Star Trek: First Contact
by Albukirky
Summary: Kirk and Spock had only begun to explore the unexpected feelings developing between them when a mission threatens to force them apart before they can even begin.
1. Chapter1

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**By: Albukirky**

**Synopsis: Kirk and Spock had only begun to explore the unexpected feelings between them when a mission threatens to force them apart before they even begin. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek**

**A/N: I just love these characters so much that I have decided to pay homage to them. In my heart I *know* that K/S is canon but well, I don't own Star Trek or otherwise it'll be a LOT slashier. This story is my own personal interpretation of the characteristics of the good people on the happy starship Enterprise, particularly the budding relationship between Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock. It'll be slow building at first (please bear with me), hopefully there is a plot too (Yay!) and the eventual inevitability of Spirk. I promise you that you will have it in all its glory. I plan a good one for them (I hope).**

**Any mistakes and grammatical errors are mine (I don't have a Beta) so feel free to point them out if you find any. Obviously the planet M246, the Repulse and everything else you do not recognise are mine. Um, I admit I know nothing about Stardate three hundred fifty two point blah, blah, blah, so bear with me on that too.**

**Anyhoo, I'll stop my yakking now and let you get on with the story.**

**Thank you for reading.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter One:**

Captain's Log Stardate 3074.2:

We had beamed down on planet M246 in order to investigate the disappearance of the Starfleet cargo vessel the Repulse. Our beam point was calculated to be the last point of contact between the vessel and Starfleet before the contact was terminated. Mr Spock had detected an intelligent life-form reading on the planet which is supposed to be inhabited but for a wormlike creature burrowing underground in this desert planet. So far, we had found signs of debris of what could have been the vessel we are searching for but we found neither survivors nor the cargo. There is also no sign of the humanoids that are believed to be on this planet. Nevertheless, a feeling of unease had settled upon the landing party as if we are being watched…

Two days ago:

It began as a simple mission. Simple enough like a game of hide and seek. No one saw the possibilities for terror to occur in such a mission. James T. Kirk, Captain of the Federation starship Enterprise thought so too. After all, the order they received from Starfleet Command had been simple enough:

_To Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise,_

_You have been ordered to investigate the missing cargo vessel 'Repulse' that was reported to have lost contact with Starfleet near the uninhabited M246 System. The vessel was carrying a cargo of medicines to be transported to Starbase 8. You are to investigate the cause of disappearance and to retrieve possible survivors and cargo. The Enterprise is ordered to report to Starbase 8 once the mission is completed._

Along with that message were the names of the missing crewmen of the Repulse. As usual, the Enterprise which is currently serving its five-year mission of space exploration had to answer the call of duty.

The Enterprise had reached M246 without any incident and they prepared to send out the landing party to beam down to the planet surface. They were orbiting the planet, and all the necessary preparations were underway when Spock who was monitoring the planet surface at his Science Station detected something amiss with the life-form readings.

'Fascinating,' the Vulcan commented.

'Captain, I have detected an unusual life-form reading near our beaming point. Even though this planet was supposedly lacking of humanoid life-forms, I have detected something like it from the scan. From what I have observed, there appear to be numerous although I am unable to determine the exact number,' Spock stated.

Kirk looked up from where he was discussing with the helmsman Sulu regarding their landing at Spock's comment. He walked over to the science station without commenting and proceeded to check the report Spock had obtained. There was no mistaking it; Spock had never made a mistake since he was appointed Science officer and there was no mistake now.

'Do you think the missing crewman from the Repulse is amongst them Spock? Kirk asked.

'I do not believe so Captain. I have run the schematics on these life-forms. While they are humanoids, they are most definitely not human. All of the missing crewmen are human Captain. Unfortunately none of them registers on the scan. It is possible Captain, that they are all dead,' Spock said.

Kirk pondered this silently. Even if the current evidence had showed that they might indeed be no survivors from the cargo ship, Kirk knew he still had the responsibility to try and locate the cargo if nothing else. Also, the existence of the unknown Humanoids on the planet excited him. Who knows what they will find there. His ever ready sense of adventure has kicked in.

'Analysis, Mr. Spock?' Kirk began. Spock as usual, was ready with a possible explanation.

'I believe that these humanoids might not be native to this planet Captain. Perhaps they had come from some other systems and for some reason had settled here,' Spock answered. 'I believe us beaming down is the only way an accurate answer can be obtain.'

Kirk had no argument against that logic. The turbolift doors opened to reveal the ship's Chief Medical Officer's less than calm visage. The reason was simple; Dr. Leonard McCoy was one of the chosen to beam down to the planet surface and very obviously had made it clear to the Captain that he has no desire to be devoured as lunch by one of the planet's infamous giant wormlike monsters. Nevertheless, if they did, indeed, against all odds find survivors down on the planet, the CMO's medical expertise is a much needed help. Therefore, reservations or no, McCoy found himself included as a member of the landing party.

Without preamble, the doctor walked to the Captain's side. Everyone else returned back to their workstations.

'Everything is ready to beam down Jim. Not sure if it's a good idea to do so though. Don't you know what monsters there be down there, Captain?' McCoy groused but kept his voice down so that only Kirk and Spock –who is near- can hear him.

'Bones, you heard the orders from Starfleet. We are to retrieve any survivors and cargo if possible. And I need you down there,' Kirk said in all seriousness.

McCoy was for once contemplative of this fact but found no answer to the Captain's plea. He decided instead to shift his discomfort to the Vulcan.

'I supposed you're very happy to get the chance to study something new eh, Spock? Bet you those worm-things would find your Vulcan ears fascinating,' he began sarcastically.

'Bones…,' Kirk warned quietly knowing an argument is about to blow in his face; now is neither the time nor the place for it after all.

'I find your observation to be in error Doctor. I feel no desire to express such emotion as happiness at the prospect of studying these worms. After all, these creatures had been thoroughly studied and no studies had ever found them to be attracted to Vulcan ears. Perhaps for the likes of you, the information is new Doctor, therefore I would suggest additional reading in the matter to improve your knowledge,' Spock delivered the blow without inflection.

McCoy visibly seethed. 'Why you green-blooded hobgoblin…,'he began.

'That's enough gentlemen,' Kirk interrupted before anymore foolishness can escalate out of control.

McCoy's face showed his displeasure and Spock looked as unruffled as usual but they heeded the command.

'Alright,' Kirk said. 'Those involved with the landing party please report to the transporter room. We will beam down in approximately fifteen minutes,' Kirk ordered.

Sulu and McCoy left for the turbolift. 'Aren't you coming Jim?' McCoy called but Kirk waved them to proceed without him.

After the turbolift doors slid shut Kirk turned once again to face Spock.

'Spock, I'm leaving the Enterprise in your capable hands. Do report to me on any unusual activities on the planet's surface. Run another scan to locate the missing crewmembers. We shall be on the planet for no longer than 24 hours. If there had been no contact after one day you are ordered to beam us up. You know the rest of my orders,' Kirk said studying the Vulcan's face.

The Vulcan stared at him for a moment without answering. From his usually inscrutable face, Kirk can sense the argument surfacing there.

'Permission to join the landing party Captain,' Spock asked suddenly.

Kirk was not entirely surprised by this request. Spock had openly voiced his desire to join the landing party as much as McCoy had preferred to stay away.

'My scientific knowledge might be of good use down there,' reasoned the First Officer.

'Well, I thought we had discussed this matter Spock. You know why you are needed on the Enterprise. If something was to happen down there, I want someone I can trust to take care of her.'

Kirk purposely put the emphasis on trust, because truthfully that's what he genuinely felt. He would not trust the Enterprise in the hands of anyone else besides himself and Spock. And even though this current mission seemed simple enough, Kirk was not a fool to believe that nothing could go wrong.

Therefore, the logical set of action is to leave Spock in charge of the ship. He knew Spock was as keen as he is to beam down there but the Vulcan was too smart not to acknowledge the decision to be a sound one. They looked at each other for a moment in private contemplations.

'Understood Captain,' Spock finally said. 'Good luck,' he added as an afterthought.

Kirk found himself grinning at that comment.

'Why, I thought the concept of luck is illogical Spock,' he chided and without waiting for a reply, Kirk entered the turbolift towards his mission. As the doors slid shut, his eyes locked into Spock's and then he was gone…

_To be continued…_

**Well…erm…comment?**

**Please let me know so that I may improve my writing and the story-a review does a healthy story make. The second chapter will be longer I promise and hopefully more action packed so reviews will make me work faster *puppy dog eyes***

**Ahem. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Summary: The Starfleet mission to search for the missing cargo vessel the Repulse continues. Approaching K/S planet at normal speed. More information will be provided should warp speed be initiated. **

**Disclaimer: I'm on fanfiction…do I *really* need to do this…sigh…not mine…sob.**

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you to all the wonderful readers who reviewed Chapter One. All the alerts are really great too! To my dear Problem-hope this chapter is an improvement-thanks so much! Chapter Two will be a continuation on the Enterprise's mission to planet M246 and will delve slightly deeper (slow-building remember?) into the blossoming relationship of Kirk and Spock. Mostly Spock's musing on the subject. I'm saving Kirk's for the next chapter (:P). **

**The plot thickens and other familiar characters will be making their respective debuts so I've really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope all of you will find it an enjoyable read.**

**And on we go!**

_**Chapter Two:**_

As the Captain moved towards the turbolift, Spock found his gaze following the retreating form without conscious. His eyes caught Kirk's at the last moment before the turbolift doors slid shut between them. There was no fear he perceived in that fleeting glance. Instead, Spock found there warmth and respect and so much trust in him that the Vulcan found himself unable to decipher the reason for it.

Lately, he had sensed more and more of such inexplicable glances thrown his way by the captain. He had felt that intense gaze trained upon him numerous times on the bridge, in the hallways and even in the mess hall. It intrigued and mystified him because although Captain Kirk and he had proven themselves to be a formidable team in missions, they are not as yet 'friends' in the Human sense of the word. They make no other contact besides what duty brings for them and Spock is fine with that.

But sometimes, he realised that the captain had been trying to make an effort to 'get to know him better' as Sulu had pointed out to him at his genuine surprised at the captain's social request to engaged in a chess match with him in the recreational area. That happened just before they received the orders to go to M246. He had politely declined (partly because he had some records he needed to supervise but also partly because the captain's sudden friendliness triggered an internal Vulcan warning system in his mind).

Spock remembered the captain's disappointed visage at his refusal and for a moment something unfathomable sparked in him. He dismissed it immediately and left the room fully aware that Kirk's eyes were still trained upon him as he did so. He -almost- sighs at the recollection. But then, the sense of duty took over and he once again is Spock, First Officer of the Enterprise.

He turned and caught Uhura looking at him from the communication's console with an unreadable look on her face. He returned an acknowledging nod to her and started towards his own science station. He had every desire to follow Kirk's orders. He ran the scan of the planet's surface for life-forms readings and seismic activities and sat back, patiently waiting for the result.

A report was sent up from the transporter's room informing them that the landing party had beamed down safely on the planet's surface. Spock commanded to Uhura to open all communication channels to the landing party. She complied efficiently and within moments Kirk's voice can be heard from the communicator.

The captain's report was brief but precise. The landing party had beamed down at the right coordinates. The desert planet, befitting its name was a nameless waste of sand, rocks and not much else. No trace of the worms -or any life-detected. They had found debris that looked like the remnants of the cargo ship they are looking for. No survivors seen as yet and no cargo to be found amidst the wreckage. They are continuing the search.

Spock, now in temporary command of the Enterprise can do nothing but wait. Finally scanning had been completed and the data transferred to him for interpretation. He immediately set to his task. Again the majority of the reports are similar to his previous ones and corresponds to Kirk's report except for one thing-the inexplicable Humanoids presents detected nearby and in great numbers.

Even a brilliant mind like Spock's is perplexed by this strange data. Immediately, he proceeded to contact the captain and informed him of the findings. Kirk's voice sounded as puzzled as Spock felt. After all, neither the captain nor the rest of the landing party had detected any sign of life-animal-or otherwise around the area.

'Could there be a possible malfunction with the scanner, Spock?' Kirk asked.

'Negative, Captain. I have personally checked the scanner function myself and found it to be in perfect working order. At present I have no explanation for the strange life-form readings. I will endeavour to investigate further,' Spock explained, not at all pleased with the situation despite the calm appearance he projected outward.

The communication was terminated soon after with both sides promising to give immediate contact should more answer is found. Spock once again began to run tests to ensure the scanner efficiency, despite his words to Kirk earlier, he very much preferred to double check for possible equipment malfunction.

All of a sudden, he felt a distant, yet very present presence in his mind warning him that the landing party is in grave danger. An image of terror flashed in Spock's mind, lingered and then disappeared leaving naught but an echo in his mind. Spock gasped, he felt unsteady and his hand climbed to his face as the horror enveloped him.

He saw Kirk in the vision. The captain looked strangely lonely and forlorn. Very unlike the cocky and confident person Spock had always known. As if feeling Spock's presence nearby, he looked up and smiled.

'Spock,' he called. I'm glad you're here,' he said and his blue eyes are shining.

It is as if Spock's mere presence is enough to chase away the fear. The captain smiled and Spock found himself mesmerised. Suddenly, unbeknownst to Kirk an assailant in the form of red wisp began circling him. Spock saw the captain stiffened, eyes, wide with shock and terror and his mouths gaping wide in a silent scream.

And Spock instinctively knew that this being –whatever it is- is tearing and destroying Kirk's mind. Kirk is going to die unless Spock could save him. He moved to try and help but found himself unable to.

'Captain!' he called his voice sounded desperate to his own ears.

There was no answer.

'Captain, let me help you fight this!'

'Jim!'

And suddenly darkness came.

The mental assault stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Spock suddenly realised that he was far more shaken than he thought. He found himself on the floor clutching his head. There were hands upon his shoulders, supporting him and he heard worried voices surrounding him.

'Mr. Spock!' it was Uhura's voice ringing in his ears and he knew immediately that it were her hands upon his shoulders.

He opened his eyes to find her staring concernedly at him. Beside her stood Pavel Chekov, the Enterprise's young navigator who undoubtedly had also come to his aid when he collapses.

'Are you alright Sir?' Chekov asked in his thick Russian accent.

As a matter of fact, all eyes on the bridge are trained upon him for the uncharacteristic incident. It was almost reminiscent of a particular bridge 'incident' involving himself and his now captain who was just a cadet at the time. He remembered the horror he felt when he realised that he had almost choked Kirk to death during that moment of weakness. Spock had vowed that such incident will never occur again.

Spock felt almost foolish (if such thing can occur to Vulcans) but assured them that he is alright. Uhura was insistent that he report himself to sickbay for examination but Spock brush her concerns away. After all, the mental onslaught had left no effect to him physically whatsoever. The communication officer nevertheless was most persistent.

'Mr. Spock, please. You really should get yourself checked. It would be dangerous if…,'she never got to finish her sentence.

'Lt. Uhura I am aware of your concern, and I note them but I am functioning well now, I assure you,' he finishes giving her a stern look that usually is very effective in intimidating everyone (except Kirk and McCoy).

Although Uhura didn't look even remotely intimidated in the least (she knows him too well for that), she nevertheless heeded his words and returned to her workstation wordlessly. All the other personnel followed suit and Spock-almost-let out a sigh of relief for the second time today. He has no desire of having the Bridge crew babying him like mother hens.

As it turns out, the scanner is properly operational as Spock had always known. Therefore, the report that was obtained about the existence of intelligent, humanoid life-forms was indeed accurate. Spock had known all this of course and that sudden mental assault had allowed him to formulate a possible hypothesis.

He personally believed that whatever beings existed on the planet most possibly are telepaths or possessing the power to interact through the mind, as the previous mental brush Spock had felt earlier demonstrated. What Spock has no idea of is how exactly to prove this theory without beaming down onto the planet.

Also, the previous reports from the landing party had all mentioned the same thing; no life detected whatsoever. Even Spock has no answer to the riddle and as he stared forward through the viewing screen at the red planet, peace was not easy to come by after that horrifying image he saw with his mind's eye.

_Simultaneously on the planet surface:_

Captain Kirk and his six-member landing party stared at the desolate surrounding around them with distaste. The planet surface is covered with sand and no living plant could ever thrive to live here. It is almost a miracle that oxygen can even exist in such a place. Far on the horizon, rose a jagged peak of stony mountains, looming and threatening like teeth of an ancient monster in slumber.

All around them lay the tell-tale signs of broken metal and debris and they knew that they had found the shattered remnants of the Repulse. It was clear for all of them that no one could have survived such a crash. Even if anyone had survived, the chances of survival are extremely slim.

Kirk locked eyes with Bones and the Doctor shook his head. It was clear to even him what could have happened. The Captain contacted the ship to deliver the first report and Spock had promised to continue scanning for any possible clues. Kirk immediately set to task.

They had beamed down on what is a morning on this part of the planet and he wishes to be done with the investigation by sundown. The Captain divided them all into pairs and they separated into various locations around the area. The order is that they are to report anything found or seen and to rendezvous at the beaming point before 1800 hours planet time.

'Bones, what do you make out of all this?' Kirk asked as the both of them separated from the rest of the group to investigate their own path.

McCoy shrugged. 'Well Jim, I'm a doctor, not guesser but it's very obvious to me that there could be no survivors,' McCoy answered.

'What about the shipment of medicines Bones, they are crucial to Starbase 8 aren't they?' Kirk continued.

'Well, yes of course they are Jim, but a little delay in delivery is not really a problem. Unless we are facing an outbreak of Space diseases or something, I believe this mission's actual significance is more about the mysterious disappearance of the ship than the shipment itself,' McCoy offered.

It was indeed a very, very astute observation from the Doctor. Kirk couldn't have put it better himself. He looked about his surrounding areas and saw as expected nothing but sprawling sand dunes and jagged rocks stretching for miles and miles. He sighed quietly; the hot and still air making him feel more uncomfortable than he first thought. Beside him, McCoy was similarly tugging absently at his collar, obviously overheating from the high temperature. No wind moves here and that added to the discomfort of the men.

'We cannot go on for longer than two to three hours at a time in this pressure cooker Jim. I think we need to be done with this as soon as possible,' Bones was right and Kirk offers no arguments.

He contacted the rest of the landing party to inquire of their findings. None of them had any luck in finding anything apart from more debris. Kirk began to think that there is indeed nothing to find here. He was just terminating the contact with the other men when he heard McCoy called out to him in surprise.

'Jim!'

Kirk immediately rushes to McCoy's side. McCoy is squatting on the sand. The Doctor has an intense look on his face as he scrutinised the pattern on the ground.

'What is it Bones?' Kirk began but then saw the strange patterns on the sand himself.

'Look Jim, this has just appeared while you were on the communicator,' McCoy exclaimed.

'Did you see how it happened?' Kirk asked puzzled.

The pattern suggests wind movements on sand and McCoy's words puzzled him even more.

'I felt a gush of wind hit me on the face. The next thing I know, this shows up,' the Doctor explains.

Kirk wanted to dispute the Doctor's claims since this is a windless planet but decided against it. After all, the strange sign had proven McCoy's words. Suddenly the communicator chirruped.

'Kirk here,' he said.

It was Sulu's voice answering at the other end and he sounded breathless with excitement.

'Sir, we detected signs of life from the scanner! But we can see nothing even after we searched. And strangely sir, it had been very windy around here too. I know it sounds unlikely but…,' Sulu was interrupted by the Captain.

'I believe you Sulu. Stay where you are. We are coming. Kirk out,' he instructed.

Sulu gave his acknowledgement. Kirk looked at Bones and wordlessly they rushes off to Sulu and Lieutenant Johnson's location. It was quite a long way from their location. Suddenly the communicator chirped again. Kirk promptly replied. It was Sulu again and this time there was alarmed in his voice.

'Captain! There is something here. I...' and the communicator went silent.

'Sulu?' Kirk called into the communicator. 'Sulu, what's going on?'

There was no reply.

Kirk threw a concern look at Bones and they make a hasty dash to the crewmen's location.

When they arrived, they found that Sulu and Johnson were rooted on the spot with vague expression on their faces.

'Sulu!' Kirk called. 'Johnson!' Kirk yelled shaking them to no avail.

The two men seemed to be in a trance. The Doctor had his scanner out in an instant. He started scanning. After a while he stopped. He looked very sceptically at the result.

'What is it Bones?' Kirk asked.

'Strange,' he says. No physical damage but it seemed as if they have been hypnotized.'

'Explain.'

'I don't know Jim. Their brainwaves showed the same pattern as people who had been hypnotized. There will be possible memory loss as well, I believe,' McCoy supplied.

As if to prove the doctor's words, the two men began to stir from the trance. They looked around in shock at the surrounding as if wondering how they managed to get here. When they realised that the Captain and Doctor are with them they began to ask questions.

'Captain, what are we doing here? I remember that I was on the bridge…and then I'm here' Sulu began, sounding mightily confused.

'Me too Sir, I was just in Engineering finishing my report on the Dilitium Crystal status,' said Johnson.

Kirk had questions himself that needed answers and urgently. Both men's memory about the mission had inexplicably been erased. They have no memory on beaming down to the planet and is frustratingly unable to provide whatever explanation needed by the Captain.

There was nothing else that they could do. McCoy was insisting that they beam up onto the Enterprise so he could give both crewmen a thorough medical check-up. Nevertheless, the Captain had to insist on searching for evidences that might be able to lead them to explanation on Sulu and Johnson's sudden memory lapse.

Unlike the incident with McCoy, they found absolutely no traces of wind movements or of anything else of importance (except the two crewmen's footprints dotted here and there on the sand) despite Sulu's earlier report of wind activities. Things are beginning to look and feel suspicious. The captain wondered if these strange incidents are somewhat related to the inexplicable life-form reading Spock had detected earlier and the disappearance of the Repulse.

'Spock,' Kirk thought.

He was beginning to wish that he had brought Spock along even if it is just to appease his growing discomfort with a logical speculation on the situation.

_To be continued…_

**Dun, dun, dun (cue suspense music). That's it for Chapter Two folks. Thanks so much for reading. Now, I've a little quiz for you…**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: Last I checked, my ownership claim is still pending…so nope.**

**Summary: We get a lot of Kirk and his angst in this chapter. Be warned. Hope it doesn't bore you to tears. And yes, apparently this is K/S. The plot is just a side dish.**

**A/N: Thanks for the review and also to those who alerted this story.**

**Chapter Three:**

Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise is a man of many virtues. Right at the moment, patience is most definitely not one of them. The escalating heat of M246 is not helping the situation any. They had been searching the surrounding area for over an hour looking for clues that could explain the strange happenings that seemed to be plaguing the mission.

Sulu and Johnson did their best to help after the brief explanation handed by the captain with various help from the doctor about the current mission. Despite that, they could still recover nothing of their respective memories regarding the landing. McCoy repeatedly made it very clear to Kirk that these men needed to be checked for any lingering effects from whatever it is that had caused the memory lost.

Kirk had begrudgingly agreed to the doctor's suggestions. And now after an hour's worth of steady searching, their effort had yet to yield any results. The captain knows when to quit when he has to. He whipped out his communicator to contact the third group from their landing party. There was a strange crackling noise emanating from the communicator…and then silence. They all looked at each other with rising dread.

Undeterred, Kirk tried again to establish contact. It proves to be futile. No answer was forthcoming. There was nothing else that they could do apart from tracing back the route taken by crewmen Rishi and DeFlore. But a red flag had come to Kirk's mind about this. After all these incidents and the unknown status of the missing lieutenants; he decided to take a more cautious route. Kirk is not a coward but neither is he a fool. His mind made up, he contacted the ship.

'Spock here, captain,'

Kirk had never felt the need for his first officer than he did now. He was made aware of this fact at the sudden gladness he felt at the sound of the ever cool and calm resonant voice. Spock would be a splendid help down here in this desolation. He knew that he should have brought the Vulcan here with him. If there is one person Kirk knew who could probably solve the mysteries of the universe, it would be Spock…

Ah, Spock. His ever trusty first officer, Kirk would trust Spock with his own life; previous altercations notwithstanding. Spock is probably one of the best officers in Starfleet if not the best. And he belongs to the Enterprise; belonged to him.

Mine…

'Captain, are you alright?' a slight concern, almost unnoticeable tinged the Vulcan's voice.

Kirk realised with a sudden jolt that he had taken nearly a minute to answer Spock the first time. He blinked warily, aware of the sudden, very disturbing thought that had just flittered through his mind. That was a most inappropriate thought and he is in a middle of a mission with two of his crewmen missing.

_Damnit._

'Man, the heat must really be getting to me,' he thought.

'Yes, Mr Spock, alright,' Kirk said.

He is also very aware of the fact that McCoy and the rest are currently looking at him concernedly as well. That was unbecoming behaviour of a starship captain and Kirk is very glad that none of them can read minds. He had a sinking feeling however, that he will count as one of McCoy's poking specimens-along with Sulu and Johnson- once they beam onto the Enterprise. He really, really hated those hyposprays and Bones never had any problem brandishing it upon him on any occasions.

Kirk ordered Spock to locate the exact coordinates of lieutenants Rishi and DeFlore. His decision whether to remain on the planet or to beam up will depend on the crewmen's status. While any of his crew is still alive, there will be an attempt to their rescue no matter how difficult it could be contrived. Nevertheless the captain is well aware that a rescue mission would require the participation of more crewmen. If the situation proves too dangerous and puts the life of too many of his men at risk, he would not continue with the rescue.

It was the responsibility that Kirk sometimes wished he does not have to make. He was well aware that a part of his duty would require him to decide which member of his crew is well suited to a mission than the other. And after a while he had learned that it was a part of necessary evil. He had witnessed too many times the death of crewmembers in the name of duty. And it was he, Kirk, who had assigned them the task that had lead to their demise.

Sometimes, it pained him so that he would have to seek refuge away from everyone to lessen the burden of duty placed upon him. It is such an irony to him that this should happened because not too long ago; as a matter of fact it was just over a year ago that he had tasted the sweet triumph over the Narada incident against the mad Romulan Nero who had robbed him of a childhood he never had. It was a part of him that no one had ever known. Despite his ulterior cocky, devil-may-care, careless, happy-go-lucky (he hated being called this) and ultimately self-assured nature that he projected to everyone, deep inside, James T. Kirk is a lonely young man.

He never told anyone of this; not even Bones and he had never allowed anyone else to come close enough to care. Yes, Bones is his best friend and yes, he does care for Kirk in his own gruff way that secretly (Kirk will never, ever let the Doctor learn this fact) the captain found to be extremely endearing but it is a secret he is loathed to share to even Bones. Yet, Kirk feels that somewhere, someone did understand him, even more than he does himself.

Spock.

Not, his Spock. The other, older Spock.

Somehow, during the course of his mind-meld with the older Vulcan, he had been able to perceive the thoughts of the other man. '_Our minds, one and together'_ he remembered the elder spoke before he was plunged into the depth of the meld. He had learned the facts about Nero then and it had been important and vital to his mission and survival, but also along with that he also perceived, other thoughts, feeling and _emotions _being presented to him that he knew was not his own. He had felt recognition, warmth, happiness and an endless overflowing love and affection in depths unfathomable to his human mind.

_Love_.

He had been able to feel the presence of that particular emotion from the beginning of the meld until it ended. Eternal, devoted love was pouring from the Vulcan's thoughts into his very being and Kirk was not even able to comprehend why he, or rather, why his counterpart had even merited such wondrous emotions from the Vulcan. Emotions and Vulcans are two such opposing words that should not have the right to even be in the same sentence together. Yet, this Vulcan is depositing them in spades!

And the emotion was there, alive and well and it was all for him. Kirk had never known such a love. He envied his counterpart very much for being able to inspire such fire in the Vulcan. And long after the meld was ended and the Universe saved from utter destruction, it was a memory that he would always remember and cherish. It is a secret that he alone will know. He will carry that part of his life forever and will recall it over and over again in the deep of the ship's night, away from prying eyes.

After that incident, he found himself maturing faster than he could ever remember doing. He was appointed the captain of the Enterprise; his mother was not there to attend the ceremony. He decided he did not care anyway. He had wished to meet older Spock before the other leaves for Vulcan but circumstances were not permitting. The meld was the only contact they had. Kirk had wanted to initiate contact but never did and apparently the Vulcan had preferred to keep his distance too. He left it that way. He has his own life to lead anyway.

Captain Kirk was secretly glad when the younger Spock had requested to be his First Officer. He had granted the request immediately. Personally, Kirk didn't know what he had wanted to achieve by doing so. On one hand, it was a logical (that word never failed to remind him of Spock) decision to do so because Spock is an extremely capable Starfleet officer; every other captains of the fleet had wanted him to serve under them.

The Narada incident also had proven to Kirk that they make a great working team together, so it was only natural to appoint Spock as his First Officer. On the other had, Kirk understands himself too well that he had only wanted the Vulcan on board for a more _persona_l and _selfish_ reason.

In the beginning, Kirk had been able to control himself from getting too close to the younger Vulcan. After all, he is very much aware of the fact of the Vulcan's dislike of close proximity (except with Uhura, he had found himself thinking bitterly) and Spock has a serious talent of avoiding him when they are off duty.

As much as Kirk did not want to admit it, especially to himself, he found Spock's avoidance of him hurtful. He would rather die a slow and painful death than reveal this fact to anyone but he could not deny that it is the truth. But he found himself stealing glances from the Vulcan from time to time until it was becoming indecently frequent. If Spock had noticed this however, he thankfully had chosen to ignore it.

They worked very well together, there is no doubt, and Kirk is very much grateful for that but Spock is still unable to relax around him when they are no emergency to navigate out of. Kirk had lost count on the number of times he had tried to coax the Vulcan into playing chess with him or join him in the mess hall only to be turned down very politely and skilfully.

Kirk was beginning to think that he had lost his mojo in charming people's pants off. Apparently, his dazzling smile (usually very effective in charming both men and women and aliens alike) has no effects whatsoever on Spock. The Vulcan is admirably immune against it.

The annoyance Kirk felt at the numerous failures would have likely earned him the nickname 'Captain Irk' soon.

Sometimes, he had asked himself repeatedly the motivation of his seemingly desperate actions to get the Vulcan's attention. It is illogical to dwell upon a memory that does not even belong to him; of another life similar but utterly divergent from his own. Whoever that James T. Kirk from the alternate timeline was, he is a person different from him and the relationship (whatever it was) that he shared with the Prime Spock it had belonged to them. He is merely an observer; from outside looking in.

For him and his Spock, the future was yet to be decided.

And then this mission had arrived and with it brought to Kirk another dilemma of 'which personnel are best to bring on field trip day'. He had selected his landing party as efficiently as he could base on their respective fields. Spock had volunteered too, as Kirk had guessed he would and the Vulcan would have been a useful asset for the sheer knowledge he held in science in particular, but Kirk could not spare him this time.

The M246 system is located in the not-so-friendly area of the Neutral Zone where Klingon warbirds had been known to venture into this part of space from time to time. Therefore Kirk had enough sense to know that an experience commander is needed to be in command of the Enterprise should any space emergency occur. Unfortunately, currently the best man or rather, Vulcan for the job is Lieutenant Commander Spock.

Kirk could tell that Spock was displeased with the decision. He did not show it outwardly but Kirk just knew. The Vulcan had personally sought him after the end of Alpha-shift one day to persuade the captain to allow him to join the landing party. It was the first time that Spock had ever done so and it made Kirk's day. Unfortunately, he had had to disappoint the Vulcan. And he could not deny that he had felt disappointed himself.

Kirk could have sworn he could detect impatience and stubbornness manifesting itself in the usually calm face and Spock was actually _arguing_ with him (Kirk doesn't know why this pleased him so)! But eventually, Spock bowed down to the sense of duty (and logic too, if Kirk could be so bold) and had accepted his captain's orders obediently. Kirk had felt immeasurably impressed with himself.

That was almost two days ago and now Kirk found himself on this forsaken planet, in a mission that seems to be a pointless exercise of patience and endurance and he is as far away as feeling completely assured of the whole situation. He silently prayed that both his crewmen are safe and could be found soon.

'Captain,' the Vulcan's voice broke into Kirk's private contemplation.

Kirk started and gave his acknowledgement. The Vulcan continued with his report.

'I have failed to locate the coordinates of both the crewmen. It seems that their location is either shielded from our sensors or that they are, indeed, dead,' Spock explained.

Kirk felt the hollowness that often accompanied such an announcement spread over him.

'Are you sure Spock? Have the sensors swept all the possible areas?' Kirk asked as conformation.

'Affirmative captain. However, there is an area about five kilometres north of the landing spot that our sensors were unable to penetrate. Our scans had identified that there is an underground cavern in the place. I believe that if they are alive that they might be found there.'

'Well, in that case, we have to conduct a search. Spock, prepare a group of ten men to beam down here immediately. Also, inform Scotty that I need him to beam up Dr McCoy along with Sulu and Johnson on my order.

There was a paused at Spock's end of the transmission as the Vulcan relay the orders to Scotty and simultaneously an indignant remark from Dr. McCoy's direction.

Kirk chose to ignore the Doctor.

'May I know the current status of the Repulse search Sir?' Spock inquired.

'Dead end at the moment, Spock. We have found more mysteries than answers so far and I don't like it,' Kirk replied.

Spock was silent for a moment, and then…

'Permission to beam down sir…'Spock began.

_To be continued…_

**A very contemplative chapter; I was trying to do a character analysis on Captain Kirk. Good/Bad is for you to decide.**

**Review and constructive criticisms are welcome. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: If LOVE = OWNERSHIP, then this is mine a long time ago…But alas…**

**Summary: For some reason I love Kirk too much and I'm gonna dissect him a bit more. I love Spock too so I'd be dissecting him as well. Spock angst in this chapter people! There is A LOT of them too so again BE WARNED. Gosh, I love this writing lark…(XD). Oh yeah, there'll be a little thing called 'plot' coming up slowly after. This is K/S. **

**A/N: Phantomsnow thank you very much for the review. It is very much appreciated. For everyone else interested enough to read this-thank you. Hope this chapter is enjoyable too. **

**Chapter Four:**

'Permission to join the landing party sir,' Spock requested.

Up to this point, it had been Spock's third request so far. Kirk has no heart to deny him again. After all, it is a logical decision to have the Vulcan with the search team in a sense. Despite that, Kirk is still captain and regardless of his own personal preference for the Vulcan to accompany him at the moment his utmost duty is to the safety of the ship and its crew.

'Has there been any other vessel detected in the star system Spock?' he asked.

Spock's reply was firm and sure.

'Negative, captain. We have detected none since we arrived here. And all sections of the ship are checked and operational sir. I have personally supervised every report from all sections myself,' Spock reported.

Kirk felt an intense pride rose in him at Spock's words. He knew that he could count on Spock to be as efficient as this. And in his heart Kirk realised that regardless of the destiny that is ahead of them, having Spock at his side, even if only as his First Officer and nothing more is enough of a blessing for him.

'Very well, then. Request is accepted Mr. Spock. Now get me Scotty, since he's gonna be in charge, he might as well receive my orders personally.'

Spock's acknowledgement sounded as normal and professional as ever to the casual listener, but Kirk's keen ears and observational skills (particularly of Spock's behavioural pattern), caught the subtle note of satisfaction in the Vulcan's tone.

Kirk found himself grinning in spite of himself.

Scotty accepted the order calmly enough (as per Scotty) with an '_Aye, sir,_' and Spock reported that the replacement landing party is readied and prepared to beam down as soon as possible.

After that Kirk turned back to the others.

'Bones, I need you to beam up with Sulu and Johnson once the replacement team arrives,' Kirk began.

'I think you should beam up too Jim. You seemed a little out of it earlier. I think this heat is beginning to catch up with you too,' said McCoy.

'No, Bones. I'm fine. I'd stay here with the team. You beam up and try to figure out what had caused these two to lose their memories,' Kirk said.

'Now, look here Jim…,' an argument is pending from McCoy's side.

'Bones. I'm staying but I do _know_ my own limit. If it is proving to be too much for me, I will beam myself up,' Kirk said as an assurance to the doctor's concern.

McCoy looked far from reassured however, but he had known the captain long enough to not continue arguing.

'Fine. Just remember that even Starship captains are not invincible,' McCoy grumbled.

Kirk smiled.

'I know Bones. And stop your babying, I'll have Spock to cover my ass now, won't I?' he asked and winked to the Doctor.

McCoy rolled his eyes.

'Somehow that worries me even more. The number of times I've had one or the other of you bleeding all over my sickbay. I'm a Doctor, Jim, not a miracle worker.'

Kirk does not deign to even pretend to offer an excuse this time. He knows very well that Bones hides his true feelings and concern behind his harsh demeanour. But the doctor has proven himself to be a true friend again and again. Kirk remembers that if it wasn't for Bones' intervention in bringing him aboard the Enterprise when he was facing academic suspension for his 'creative' solution of the Kobayashi Maru simulation, he wouldn't be standing here as the captain of the Enterprise in the first place.

Kirk is nothing if not grateful for the doctor's friendship. If Bones wasn't assigned to the Enterprise by Starfleet Command he would have put his own personal request for him. But with or without the captain's intervention, the Narada incident, despite its catastrophic consequences, had proven Doctor Leonard McCoy's ability in an emergency and leads to his appointment as Chief Medical Officer of the USS Enterprise.

They had learned more of each other as their five-year mission progresses. It was not an easy experience to navigate at first. Kirk would have to admit and there were many times during particularly difficult missions that tempers flare and unfortunate words were spat in anger. McCoy and Spock in particular had perfected the art of argument since the very beginning of their mission.

They have somehow developed a talent in finding some disagreement or others that would merit a war of words of logic versus emotion that would have amused Kirk if it wasn't for the dire circumstances. Often the captain will find himself to be the unwilling referee between his First Officer and his CMO verbal duels.

But despite the craziness and chaos that sometimes comes with the territory of being a starship captain; for the first time in his life, Kirk felt that he belonged. For someone who had never felt any connection to anyone and who grew up as a juvenile delinquent, it is an extremely pleasant thing to be accepted and be respected (for a change) and finally Jim Kirk felt as if he is a prodigious son come home.

Kirk sighed.

Somehow, his mind seemed to be very, very distracted ever since he first beamed down onto this planet. The young man found this to be uncharacteristic of him. He had never before allowed himself to think of anything else apart from duty during missions. The attitude and discipline he had learned to master ever since he was appointed captain is an admirable trait he is very proud of.

Yet, he found his mind often times wondering a lot towards Spock and the unnamed emotion associated with the Vulcan numerous times in this mission. Has his preoccupation towards Spock escalated so much as to become this obsessive? But no, Kirk knew himself this much at least; he would not allow his personal issues to jeopardise his ship and his mission. So why is he allowing himself to continuously think of Spock in this sandpit?

'_Man, it must've really been this heat_,' he thought again.

Absently, a hand rose to tug at the collar of the gold command tunic.

He felt very uneasy suddenly, as if he was being not only watched but observed and monitored. Similarly, he also realised that McCoy and the rest seemed almost restless and Johnson had begun to fidget rather constantly.

'Captain. I have a feeling as if we're being watched. I can't explain it but I just felt as if there is something or someone here, observing us,' Sulu had literally read Kirk's mind and spoken aloud about it too.

'I felt it too, Captain,' Johnson chimed in. The young lieutenant had a confused look on his face ever since the memory lost incident. Kirk voted silently to himself that Johnson should be beamed up as soon as possible to face McCoy's medical judgement.

The captain traded looks with the doctor. McCoy's face had grown sour from all the waiting. Kirk understood that look well. After all, McCoy had protested and loudly at that about the danger of this mission.

'Well, at least we have neither seen head nor tail of the giant worm, have we doctor?' Kirk can't help but quipped to McCoy.

No matter how critical a situation is James T. Kirk never allowed the opportunity to chide Doctor McCoy pass him by.

McCoy gave him a long suffering look.

'You wait until we get back to the Enterprise, Captain. I believe, ah, your quarterly health evaluation report is still pending.'

The comment was more than effective in shutting the captain up. If there is one thing that Kirk _hated _more than those darn hyposprays, it is the aforementioned health evaluation day; also known to the captain as the '_Dr. McCoy is Being a Sadistic Bastard Day'_.

Trust McCoy to be devious in a critical situation.

Nevertheless, the mirth was short-lived as Kirk and the rest realised that they have yet to hear from the Enterprise since the captain's last orders to Scotty.

'Now, what is taking them so long? I thought Spock said that the replacement party is ready?' asked McCoy with irritation that would also probably be masking a sign of concern.

The Captain, whip out his communicator again.

'Kirk to Enterprise. Come in Enterprise.'

……………………….

For a whole minute, the only response they received had been static. Numerous attempts at contact several minutes later had yielded no result. The Enterprise is simply not responding.

With growing concern, Kirk and the others stared at each other. Was the Enterprise in some sort of trouble? The last contact they had with the ship was merely minutes ago…what could have possibly gone wrong in such a short amount of time?

Kirk stared skywards to the unseen ship he hoped is still orbiting the planet with increasing dread…

_On the Enterprise:_

Spock had felt immeasurably pleased and somewhat relieved at the captain's acquiescence of his request. The Vulcan half of Spock had hoped to be able to beam down onto the planet to find proof for his current theory on the possible inhabitants (if they are indeed life as he knows it). Another, more Human part of him had secretly desired to be near the captain.

Logically, Spock had argued with himself, the decision for this is a purely professional affair. After all, no one can deny Spock's prowess in handling difficult missions. And wasn't it stated somewhere in the Academy's Code of Conduct that a First Officer's duty is to protect the Captain's safety at all cost? Spock had found his argument with his own self to be highly disturbing an as un-Vulcan like as possible. 'Perhaps, I am indeed missing Dr. McCoy's unerring argumentative nature,' Spock thought suddenly and as quickly he had banished such thoughts as 'illogical'.

No one who had ever come in contact with Spock could ever accuse him of being emotional. The only time Spock had ever come close to an emotional breakdown (as a matter of fact, the incident could indeed be considered an emotional breakdown) was during the time of Nero and even then, no one could've blamed him.

His mother after all, had been killed along with the millions of Vulcan inhabitants in the wake of the destruction of the planet to Nero's vendetta. Spock had never felt anguish and pain as terribly as what he had felt that day. For the first time in his life too, Spock had experience regret; an emotion too debilitating for someone like Spock who had spent his whole life trying to hide his feelings.

She was a Human woman. And her Humanness stood out as a vast contrast to a society where emotion is seen as a sign of weakness. But she had always maintained the air of dignity and of calm which is befitting her status as a wife of a Vulcan Ambassador while simultaneously being extremely proud of her Human heritage. Despite any unkind remarks that were often thrown at her in disdain, she had always maintained her equanimity.

Spock envied her self-assuredness. As for himself, growing up amongst Vulcan children was just short of a hellish experience. He was picked on and bullied every single day despite how illogical such actions could be. He fought back sometimes when it got a bit too much. Particularly when the other children hurled unkind words toward his mother. It got him in trouble more often than not, but he had felt inexplicably proud of himself afterwards for protecting her honour.

And she was never shy of showing him affection despite his inability to return back in kind. Perhaps his coldness in that way had hurt her sometimes but if it does she had never showed it to him. Truly Spock had wished, many times in fact, that he could just tell her those words …

_I love you._

His mother had said it too him, too many times too remember. All he can recall now is that she had uttered it to him every single day during his childhood and even beyond that.

When the opportunity arose, he had chosen to decline the entry to the Vulcan Science Academy to enrol into Starfleet Academy. His father was not pleased with the choice but said nothing against it. His mother on the other hand was overjoyed. She had wished that he would eventually come to learn more about the Human half of his existence. He never really got the chance.

Even in his new environment on Earth, Spock had never felt like he belonged. His genetic make-up (pointy ears are definitely non human) ensured that. He was estranged from his mother's human heritage. This situation is nothing new to him; despite his dedication to the Vulcan way of life, he is still not accepted as fully Vulcan. Spock wasn't expecting any special treatment and he was not disappointed.

He had never belonged and after all these years had never wished to belong. That is the lie he kept repeating to himself until the fact blurred and became the truth. He hid his tears often even from his mother when people were cruel to him. Eventually, the unkind words had ceased to affect him any longer.

Nevertheless, he found his life at the Academy pleasant. It was no surprised-especially not to him-when he was named Starfleet's most brilliant cadet. Some people were not too happy with that but Spock wisely chose to ignore it. Ignoring such a matter is almost always successful in killing it.

After graduation, Spock took a post as a teaching staff at the Academy. He was well respected and that was all he is. He made no effort in extending personal contact even though he received numerous invitations.

And then he had met Nyota Uhura. An exceptional young woman, whom for the very first time in Spock's life had ignited a healthy interest within him. She is beautiful, intelligent and the best student in his class. But she was a cadet and he, a professor, thus anything beyond professional conduct would otherwise be deemed inappropriate.

Then Nero had turned his life upside down. He lost his home planet and along with it his Mother. At his most vulnerable moment, Uhura was there and she offered him comfort in her embrace. He took it willingly, desperate for some kind of comfort and closeness that she permeates. They had kissed. It was a spur of the moment thing (highly illogical behaviour he thought of it now) but it had felt right at the time.

When the Narada episode had ended and everything started to fall back into place, Spock found himself busy with so many things occupying him. It helped to keep his mind off the sorrow of loss. He had decided then that he would resign his Starfleet commission to aid with the rebuilding of a Vulcan colony. A suitable uninhabited planet had apparently been found for the quest. He didn't choose to leave Starfleet willingly but it was a logical thing to do.

'_Spock, please don't go. We need you here with us. I heard Kirk has been requesting for you as his First Officer. You have so much to accomplish here. Please.'_

Uhura had nearly pleaded with him to stay. He told her the reason why he could not. She had asked him to reconsider and had said those three words that reminded him so much of his Mother.

'_I love you Spock.' _

He found himself unable to return the sentiment. He had apologised and left, thinking that day would be the last day he would ever see her. He buries his true feelings for her deep inside of him.

But he was wrong.

An unexpected meeting with a Vulcan who is actually his own counterpart from the future had changed all he had planned for. And the elder had persuaded him quite effectively too to retain his position in Starfleet.

Which is a very logical and absolutely understandable advice to accept.

What Spock could not entirely fathom is the reason the older him (it is so strange to refer to himself thus) was absolutely adamant that he nurture a relationship with Kirk, who by that time had just been appointed Captain of the Enterprise.

The old Vulcan had mentioned about Kirk and himself being in _'a friendship that would define you both'_.

Spock had found that 'revelation' to be a very relative concept.

He had sensed absolute trust and respect and even admiration in the elder's demeanour and the unwavering devotion he seemed to be projecting on the subject that is Kirk. The younger Spock was absolutely fascinated by this revelation. Nevertheless, being a 'logical' person, he was not ready to accept whatever the elder had predicted.

After all, this is another timeline and even if they were friends in the alternate one, things might have changed now.

So, in the end, after all things considered, Spock made up his mind. If indeed there is a beneficial gain to be had by being Kirk's First Officer than it is a logical decision to take.

He was very surprised to be absolutely honest when Kirk had accepted his offer immediately without any inquiry. The captain's eyes had lit up then and Spock found himself settling into the role of First Officer effortlessly.

Kirk.

He had felt something akin to hatred at the person who carried the name once upon a time. A year later, his feelings for the Captain had all but completely changed and for the better Spock had found himself thinking. Kirk had proven himself to be more than a competent officer; he had proven to be an extraordinary man. Spock had never seen as much fire and life in another person as Kirk had displayed.

As a Human being, James Tiberius Kirk is an enigmatic specimen to study that triggered the scientific interest in Spock.

Kirk is chaotic and pandemonium personified at most times but at other times absolutely subdued and restrained.

The Captain had been the only person who had ever managed to ignite emotion from him. Sometimes Spock suspected, the other man had done it on purpose just to observe his reaction.

And Spock found himself unwittingly drawn to the unpredictable nature of the captain.

* * *

'Mr. Spock. Everyone is assembled and ready to beam down Sir,' Lt. Giotto's voice broke into Spock's thoughts.

The Vulcan had to almost physically stop the train of thought from flooding his mind.

'Odd,' he thought.

He'd never been as preoccupied as this before. Especially when he is in a middle of an important mission such as this. Perhaps, he had allowed himself to be sufficiently disturbed by the telephatic image of Kirk he was shown earlier. Spock does not understand. He inhaled a deep breath slowly to allow calm to permeate into him.

He turned to face Giotto and offered the other men his acknowledgement.

'Very well Mr. Giotto. Wait for me in the transporter room please.

Giotto left after the order was received. Spock had begun to make his way towards his quarters to retrieve some personal artefacts to be brought down with him when a sudden lurch nearly tumbled him onto the floor. As he was regaining his footing and composure, he went straight to the intercom and contacted Scotty.

'Mr. Scott. Status report.'

Another lurched, more violent this time threatened to send Spock sprawling towards the floor again. He steadied himself and heard Scotty's frantic voice over the intercom.

'Mr. Spock! I dinna know what's happenin' but the ship's bein' pulled suddenly towards the planet Sir! We're workin' to establish the normal orbit.

'Is every system operational Scotty?' Spock asked alarmed by the sudden orbit shift.

'That is what's puzzlin' me Mr. Spock. Every system is operational at top efficiency but we are being slowly pulled by the planet's gravity. We cannae go on like this or we'll crash for sure,' said Scotty.

'Contact the captain and let him know of our situation. Release a ship-wide announcement informing all personnel to be ready at the battle stations. I'm heading for the bridge now. Spock out.'

A few moments later, Scotty's voice boomed all over the Enterprise as Spock had ordered him to do.

Spock hastened his pace towards the turbolift to get to the bridge. He passed by crewmembers going to and fro all at quickened paces to their respective stations.

His arrival to the bridge was welcomed by various concern expressions colouring every feature. Spock did not need to inquire. Uhura was the first one to speak:

'Spock. Our communication channels are suddenly in-operational. I have tried everything but we have lost contact to the captain,' she began, worried etched in the beautiful face.

Spock felt his concern grew at her words. First the sudden inexplicable lost of orbit and now the lost of communication? It seems too suspicious to be coincidental.

He immediately went to the Science station and the Lieutenant currently occupying the space discreetly allowed him to take over. The very first thing that Spock did was to check on the life-signs of the landing party and readings of other possible life-forms. He almost heaved a sigh of relief when the scanner confirmed the existence of the captain's and the other four members of the landing party. His joy was short-lived however when the scanner beep again to announce the detection of various life-forms converging around the area where the landing party currently is.

The unknown beings are slowly circulating around the landing party…

_To be continued…_

**This chapter has been the longest chapter yet and mostly on Spock's contemplation. The plot is about to pick up now. Things are mostly going southwards for our beloved crew…but don't worry. I'm having a little too much fun with them to kill them off (XD). **

**Anyway Kirk and Spock : Human and Vulcan. They're supposedly as different as night and day; but really, if you scrutinised them properly, they are actually very similar. Just my opinion on that matter. **

**It's no wonder that they are **_**SOULMATES.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: MINE! THEY'RE MINE I TELL YA…Yep was talking about the ST DVDs I own of course…**

**Summary: Plot and plot and MORE PLOTs! Never fear dear readers, there'll be some connection between what Kirk is experiencing on the planet and what Spock is feeling on the Enterprise…Oops, did I say too much? Read on brave hearts and may you enjoy! This is K/S and it makes me *happy*. (:D)**

**A/N: Reviewers ROCKS! THANKS SO VERY MUCH TO **_**PHANTOMSNOW**_** AND **_**DUSTYLYRIC**_**- YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. And to all the readers who have been following so far- THANK YOU. I appreciate all the support. **

**Chapter Five:**

Kirk blinked sand out of his eyes….

They had just lost contact with the Enterprise. Kirk and his crewmen had tried everything they could do to establish contact but all their efforts had been in vain. A tugging feeling of fear had crept up the Captain's spine in a chilling realisation.

The USS. Enterprise.

His ship.

There were over four-hundred people aboard that vessel.

Spock…

Are they alright?

Spock…please be safe…please…

_Hey Kirk, what's the matter with you?_

Kirk didn't know what had made him thought what he just thought. This isn't the first time that he had ever faced this kind of situation. As a matter of fact, he had encountered similar situations numerous times ever since he assumed command of the Enterprise.

So what made it so different this time? Why is he allowing himself to slowly succumb to a panic state of mind?

'Calm down, Kirk,' he told himself.

'Relax.'

At least he can be sure of one thing: the Enterprise is still out there or otherwise he most likely would have witnessed it crashed in front of his eyes. Also, he reminded himself, Spock and Scotty were on board. If the Enterprise is indeed facing a space invasion as it is more likely, they would know what to do in an emergency.

He had absolute trust in them.

With that comforting thought Kirk was once again the calm and competent man that he is.

The Captain realised that disturbingly, he had been acting or rather thinking out of character ever since he first beamed onto this planet.

He sighed and for the umpteenth times, his hand moved to tug at the collar of his shirt. It didn't help to relieve the heat any.

Currently, since all the order of the day had been shot to hell, Kirk decided that they should probably seek for a safer place as protection against the increasingly hot temperature.

Suddenly he felt a slight tremor underneath him followed by a gush of wind hitting him hard across the face like a slap.

He blinked again.

Beside him, McCoy, Sulu and Johnson were also experiencing similar situations.

'Jim!' McCoy called out to him. 'There seemed to be a mighty lot of wind around here.'

'Look- ,' Johnson suddenly pointed out in alarm.

'Captain!' Sulu's voice rang in Kirk's ears.

'It looks like there is a sandstorm coming towards us!'

There was no mistaking that observation. But what strange storm it was too…And isn't M246 was supposedly classified by Starfleet Intelligence as a 'windless' planet?

There was no time left to ponder facts when suddenly without prior warning, the ground underneath them began to shake violently.

And the storms are still coming steadily towards them. Visibility began to waver as dust and sand swirled around them. They had not brought along the necessary protection against all these elements with them since it was assumed from the Intelligence report that there had been no need.

There was nothing else for it. Kirk and the company ran as fast as they could literally for their lives. All of the company remembered Spock's words about the underground cavern that is situated underneath the mountains they could barely make out with the endless swirls of debris thrown their way. They would have to try and seek protection that way.

The tremor that they had felt earlier seemed to intensify.

'Goddamnit! As if this darn storm isn't enough, what now?' Kirk could hear Bones breathless grumbling amidst the chaos.

'Run Bones, just run!' Kirk had managed to shout at the Doctor.

Kirk could feel his heart hammering wildly within his chest as if to rival the thundering of the storm surrounding him.

The storm began approaching them closer and soon they will be engulfed completely. Kirk found it difficult to breath as he inhaled more sand and dust into his aching lungs. At the same time the rest of the company were facing similar predicaments. Running seemed extremely difficult to do as well. The ground seemed to be shaking worse than ever as if something was disturbing it. It felt as if something was trying to break free to the surface.

Was it an earthquake?

Or…

'Arrrrggghhhh!!!'

A piercing screamed rose amidst the din and shook the entire company. Even as he continued running (as adrenaline coursed through his veins), Kirk looked back and saw to his horror the most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his life.

A creature so monstrously huge had broken the surface of the sand. Only the head is visible to the shaken crew and that vision is enough to petrify anyone. Previous records studying these worms had noted that the biggest of them to be about the width-size of a one storey building without considering its length. But the enormous head poking out of the sand in front of the startled crew is about approximately three times its reported size.

Despite the dire situation, Kirk made a mental note that should he survived this trip, he'll be the first person to inform Spock of this finding.

Nevertheless, the Captain's attention was shifted suddenly when he realised the source of the scream. Johnson had apparently slipped and fallen while he was running. The worm had gotten hold of his legs and is dragging him downwards into the ground.

The Captain could see the absolute terror written on Johnson's young face as he struggled in vain to break free from the gripping jaw.

'Johnson. No!'

The raging storm around him was not helping. Kirk had to force himself to be upright against the strong winds that seemed intent in carrying him away from his fallen crewman.

_Let go._

_Save yourself._

_Run._

He could hear whispers in his ears.

'NO!'

Kirk had forced himself to stand and with difficulty he began fumbling for the phaser on his belt. He managed to unhook it and saw that Sulu had done the same.

McCoy apparently had lost his phaser in the process of running and is currently fighting valiantly against the storm that was crashing all around them. Even if the decision would probably cost him his life, the Doctor will not abandoned his friends while they stayed behind.

In unison, Kirk and Sulu pointed their phasers to the creature. All movements seemed to have ceased from Johnson but they had to try and rescue him. Aiming was difficult owing to the low visibility and the terrible wind biting them from all direction.

'Sulu!' Kirk shouted over the noise.

'NOW!'

The phasers that would normally able to kill efficiently, were useless against the giant worm. They did not even wound it. And instead of letting go of Johnson, the beast had begun to trash violently in anger. Johnson's body was flung into the air and landed with a sickening 'thud'.

Kirk felt his heart thundered again and this time it was not out of fear.

'JIM!' McCoy screamed.

'WE HAVE TO LEAVE. HE'S DEAD ANYWAY!' Bones continued.

For a moment, Kirk's body refused to acknowledge the message sent by his brain to run.

He beheld the figure of Johnson lying on the sandy floor with regret.

_Let go._

_Save yourself._

_Run._

The voices whispered again to him from out of nowhere.

As if broken from a trance Kirk found himself being dragged bodily away from the heartbreaking vision by a determined Bones. When the Captain had stood as if transfixed by the sight of Johnson's body, the Doctor had recognised it as a symptom of shock and made the executive decision to bring him to safety.

If they had stayed a moment longer, they would have probably been crushed to death by the massive body.

McCoy shuddered in fear and disgust.

Sulu had gone off to scout for the cavern. It was amazing that even as they ran in a panicked craze earlier that they had almost reached the foot of the dark mountains they had viewed earlier from the distance.

The giant worm had mercifully gone back to its burrow underneath the ground to properly devour its prey. Obviously it was not a greedy creature otherwise if it had set its mind to pursuit, none of them would have survived. It was a lucky escape for the three of them.

And curiously as the Doctor half pulled and half supported the Captain towards the mountain now looming over them, dark and foreboding; the storm had slowly began to break. McCoy was not about to complain about this turn of events. Already his breathing had begun to calmed and normalised.

As they reached the mouth of the cavern, the Doctor eyed the dark entrance with distaste. He wondered what slimy creature would inhabit such a place. After the very unfortunate incidences he had encountered throughout the mission, he was not in the mood for another surprise.

McCoy decided to wait for Sulu to return from his scouting. He lessened his grip on Kirk and watched warily as the younger man moved away from him and continued to stare at the deceptively calm condition that was betraying the horror they had witnessed earlier.

'Jim…,' he began.

McCoy knows how hard the death of Johnson must have hit the Captain.

There was no response. Kirk was still staring mutely ahead. He did not even make a sign to acknowledge the Doctor's presence. This behaviour is very unlike Kirk.

The Doctor felt his concern for his friend climbed up a notch.

Kirk was silent and unresponsive.

'Jim?' he called again gently moving to stand beside the younger man. He placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

When Kirk finally turned to look at him, McCoy was shocked to see the vacant expression manifested there. Kirk's blue eyes are completely devoid of their usual sparkle. In fact, they looked terribly lifeless and that terrified Bones even more than the storm or the giant worm combined.

He took hold of the younger man's shoulders and began shaking him.

'Jim, snap out of it!' he cried.

The Captain's blue eyes seemed to clear slightly at the plea and he raised his eyes to level with McCoy's.

'Spock,' he began from out of nowhere.

'Jim. What--?' McCoy asked confused but the Captain broke in again.

'Spock. Where is he? They asked me-asked me to call for him. I can't…Bones. Help me. Find Spock-please. I can't reach-.'

Kirk's eyes beheld his for a moment longer before they rolled back and the Captain suddenly sagged in the Doctor's arms.

* * *

'Spock!'

The voice had been calling him incessantly. The Vulcan was extremely aware that it belonged to the Captain. He had tried responding but was rendered unsuccessful.

'Spock. Where are you? I need you… please…' the desperate voice had been calling him and begging him for help but Spock was unable to detect its location.

It seemed that it had come from a huge distance that Spock just could not reach.

'Captain. I am here. Where are you?' he had returned a reply, hoping that Kirk would hear him.

The answering voice rang in answer and recognition.

'Spock!' Kirk's disembodied voice called out in joy.

'I need you,' Kirk continued.

Spock sent to him a mental acknowledgement, partially aware that this place is deep within his own mind. Suddenly he could sense Kirk's presence weakened followed by a panicked response from the other man.

'Captain. I am here. Stay with me,' he called and tried to sooth the fear away from the Captain's mind.

But it was too late.

'Spock!!!' Kirk had cried in fear and then his presence was gone.

Spock searched desperately for the thread that would connect him to Kirk but to no avail.

'Spock!' he heard another voice broke his conscience.

'Odd,' he thought.

'Spock!'

'SPOCK!!!'

The Vulcan began to come to when he felt the forceful shaking of his shoulders. He opened his eyes slowly as it fought against his slowly regaining consciousness. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden bright lights he could see concern faces looking down upon him. He realised that he was lying on his back in the middle of the bridge.

He tried to push himself up from his currently horizontal position. Steady hands were upon him immediately trying to halt his movements. He looked up again to find Scotty's face at the forefront of his vision and the Scotsman had an uncharacteristic grim expression on his face.

'Not so fast Mr. Spock. Ye'd taken a nasty tumble,' Scotty began.

'I'm fine Mr. Scott. It was a temporary weakness and it had passed,' Spock replied trying to rise from his position again and found himself being stopped by Scotty _again_.

'I was told that this isn't the first time this had happened Mr. Spock,' Scotty countered and his voice held a stern tone seldom heard from the normally mild-mannered man.

Spock felt annoyance began to rise in him and forced himself to calm down.

Nevertheless, after observing that Spock was not going to collapse again anytime soon, Scotty held out a helping hand to help the Vulcan to stand. Spock accepted the proffered hand gladly. Despite his words to Scotty earlier, he still felt rather unsteady on his feet.

The rest of the crewmen had mercifully stopped staring and returned back to their stations but Scotty and Uhura were still standing by his side. Chekov had looked at him with concerned eyes but had now professionally turned away to attend to his duties.

Uhura was by his side the moment he took his seat at the Captain's chair. She had a concern yet ultimately determined look on her face and Spock understood exactly what she was about to say.

'Spock. I think you should go to the Sickbay and get yourself checked,' she had begun rather quietly but boldly nonetheless.

Scotty was quick to second her proposal and logically, Spock was unable to give any excuse to the contrary. After all, he did pass out and twice already. He also felt like he needed to be alone before he decided on his course of action. But he is not going anywhere before he learns of the current ship status report.

He questioned Scotty about this and the Scotsman's words had been very alarming. According to the Engineer, the Enterprise is rapidly losing its power to the unknown energy influences exerted by the planet. The engineering team had at the moment found solutions to maintain the ship in its orbit.

Unfortunately, the orbit can only be maintained for approximately three to four hours more before the planet's unstable gravitational pull will exert its effect and send the Enterprise crashing into the planet's atmosphere.

Establishing communications had been impossible. Despite Uhura's expertise and Scotty's 'inspired' interventions, they had not been able to established contact either to the landing party down below or the nearby Starbase 8.

According to Scotty, the Enterprise will begin to experience a continuous lost of power as the ship's systems begin to fail one by one.

There was no doubt about it in Spock's mind. At least a riddle might have been solved at this explanation. The cargo vessel 'Repulse' could probably have met its ending due to similar circumstances. The only way that the Enterprise could be safe is for it to break out of orbit and returned to space.

At the rate of system failures they are currently experiencing, Spock predicted that the Enterprise will only have enough power to attempt warp speed to Starbase 8. They will not have enough power to scan, locate and ultimately rescue the landing party unless they attempted repairs once they reached the Starbase. It will take weeks for repairs of such magnitude to be completed.

By doing so, they would have to abandon the landing party. They all knew that survival on the dry planet for longer than a few days without any proper protection is slim. Spock dismissed the idea immediately. He would not take that decision unless there is no hope and the landing party had been proven dead.

Scotty's report regarding the landing party had been less than positive. The Chief Engineer had reported to him that the life-form readings had dropped to almost non-existent from the time they had been detected earlier and unfortunately life-signs from the Captain and the rest of the landing party had disappeared as well.

The Captain could not be dead.

A part of Spock refused to believe it.

He thought of the final meeting he had had with the Captain.

'It is a necessary evil Spock,' Kirk's voice rang from his memory of their discussion two days ago before the Captain beam down for the mission.

'Whatever happened when I am down there Spock, your duty is foremost to the Enterprise. If the only way you can get her to safety means that you have to leave us behind; do it.'

Those were Kirk's final order to him before the commencement of the mission. It was an order often received by him during the course of their five-year mission. Somehow, he had felt very reluctant to let the Captain leave on this mission without him accompanying.

No, it was not that Spock does not trust the Captain. Trust is something that both of them had solidified seemingly a long time ago, in those desperate moments of fighting for their survival in an alien ship from the future.

Before a friendship had even been struck, Spock had willingly given his trust for his own life to Kirk. And the young man had kept his words and brought all of them to safety including Captain Pike, former captain of the Enterprise.

No, while there is still a probability that Kirk and the others might be alive, they will not be left behind. It was something he had learned from the Captain.

He will not let Kirk down.

After learning all that he could and satisfied that Scotty had everything under control, Spock surrendered the bridge to the Engineer and left to report himself to Sickbay. He felt extremely reluctant to do so but he respected the logical reason for doing so. But the sooner he gave in to everyone's concern for him, the sooner will he be able to compute a plan for the landing party's rescue.

Uhura had promptly offered to accompany him and his initial response was to reject the offer. He felt better already and is able to walk to Sickbay on his own. But Scotty had again agreed with her and now they were both walking side by side towards the Sickbay in silence.

Spock could almost physically sense the curiosity mixed with concern that Uhura is emanating. He figured that it would just be a matter of time before she brought it up.

His assumptions had been correct.

'Spock. What happened to you on the bridge?' she began, going straight to the point.

The First Officer respected her straightforwardness. There was no coyness in Uhura's tone and she was not one to be beating around the bush.

When he did not offer any answer, she calmly continued with her trail of questions:

'You were calling out to the Captain-repeatedly. Did you sense a telepathic connection to him - or something?' she had tried to keep the slight bitterness she held in her tone as she said this and is only partially successful.

Spock had no desire to share what he had witnessed in the vision but apparently he had said things during his incapacitation that had obviously intrigued many ears on the bridge. And he knew very well that Uhura had experienced a part of his telepathic abilities in the time of their short dalliance. They had melded once and it had not exactly been a pleasant experience.

But Spock had learned then that while she is indeed a pleasant mate to have, they are not telepathically compatible. Vulcan mates are chosen not only by physical attributes but essentially by how compatible their minds are. Spock's own chosen mate on Vulcan (he barely knew her) had passed during the destruction of Vulcan. Apparently, she had been the best choice for him although now, Spock would never know.

It was not the reason Spock had terminated his relationship with Uhura. Contrary to popular beliefs, Spock is not heartless and he had felt that his decision to end things with her to be a logical one. After the end of the Nero episode, Spock learned that although sorrow can never truly heal, it is tolerable over time. Work had been a balm to his soul then and he began to realise that he did not share the same feelings that she held for him.

He had been trying to formulate logical ways to tell her the truth when the meld had been initiated (he had tried to prevent it-honest). The meld had happened the day before he was scheduled to leave for New Vulcan and he had not told her of his intentions yet. He had not been shielding his thoughts carefully and she had found out his true feelings about her then.

If Spock had expected tears he would be sorely disappointed but he was a Vulcan and he does not feel such emotions. It was one of the hardest moments of Spock's life however, and he wished to never experience such pain again. They had separated in friendship and Spock felt his respect for her intensified. And he realised that he does love her – only in a different way than intimate love.

Ever since he was assigned as the First Officer of the Enterprise, she had kept her words and they remained cordial to each other and Spock truly felt her honesty.

And now…

'Spock, tell me. In your vision…Is the Captain alright?' she said and concern is shining brightly in her dark eyes.

Uhura certainly has a propensity to surprise him. He was expecting many questions from her but this is not one of them.

He turned to face her.

'He is alive. Still alive. That is all that I know,' he replied and it was the truth. So far, all the visions he had seen involved only the Captain.

'Then we must attempt a rescue. Spock, can you tell his location?' she asked again, eager to hear some good news after all the craziness lately.

Spock shook his head feeling his chest tightened. He does not know. All he can sense in the vision is darkness. He was surrounded by darkness.

Darkness…

Suddenly, as if a light had been turned on inside his head, Spock found the answer to her question. It is just a hunch and he could be mistaken but hope had flared from within him again.

'Nyota, I believe that I have a clue on their possible location!' he began.

_To be continued…_

**Not really a cliff-hanger, eh? I mean, Spock is obviously on to something (the smart cute thing) and Uhura is a tremendous help. I love Uhura and I think that she is a BAMF so no Uhura bashing here folks! Geez, can you believe the amount of melodrama in this episode alone? **

**Can't really mention about the worm thing and not have it make an appearance –right? But say hello and goodbye to the lovely giant cause this is the only time it'll be appearing in this story.**

**Plus I killed a REDSHIRT! (sorry to Johnson lovers, it just had to be done)**

**Oh and I love torturing Kirk for some reason too. It's just fun to do! (XD)**

**Review and Constructive Criticisms are Absolutely Welcomed and Appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: It's been six chapters and I am still waiting for the delivery of my very own Kirk & Spock. (:C)**

**Summary: Uhura gets her own point of view across. The plot is FINALLY taking shape but K/S takes precedence as usual.**

**A/N: REVIEWERS YOU GUYS ARE MADE OF WIN! And all the alerts had kept me going too.**

**THANKS VERY MUCH EVRYONE!**

**Chapter Six:**

Spock felt something akin to joy rose from within him at the sudden realisation.

'Nyota, I believe that I have a clue on their possible location!'

There was a hint of excitement in the Vulcan's tone that Uhura had never heard before. Being a Chief of Communications means that she had been blessed with an uncanny ability to read and detect various kinds of communications available to all known Humanoid species. Such ability she realised had come in mighty handy in dealing with professional and personal situations alike.

Right at this moment, she was able to sense absolute eagerness in the Vulcan's tone which other people (again with the exception of the Captain _and Doctor McCoy_, if Uhura had known it) normally would have missed.

In the past, she might have encountered the terrible feeling of intense jealousy at this knowledge. Uhura was glad that she had grown to be a better person than that. After all, somehow the intense emotions Spock is currently projecting (definitely very un-Vulcan like she thought) came as no surprise especially not to her.

Secretly, she long had held a suspicion that the Captain and Spock might be harbouring secret unnameable feelings towards each other (she of course knows _**exactl**__y_ what these feelings are). It was more than once that she had caught the Captain stealing glances at the First Officer.

When she had caught him doing so for the first time, it was on the bridge and both her Commanding Officers had just barely managed to escape with their lives after an altercation with a particularly trigger happy Klingon group on a planet called Organia. Uhura had heard the report on what had gone down on the planet's surface and again she marvelled at how effective a team Kirk and Spock was.

Obviously, she had only learned about the official report to Starfleet and would have no clue on what had really happened to the two but somehow she suspected it had brought them closer. Both officers had been incredibly tight-lipped on the details (so unlike Jim-she thought) and even Doctor McCoy was unsuccessful in wheedling anything from either of them.

After that event was when Uhura began noticing the Captain's supposedly subtle glances toward the Vulcan. It happened everywhere and at anytime and she would have taken pity on the Captain's behalf because it seemed that Spock on the other hand did not reciprocate whatever it is Kirk was feeling for him.

But she was wrong and when that realisation hit her-it had hit her hard like a tonne of bricks. She had been around Spock for long enough (after all, she has mad observational skill) to know that not only was the Vulcan aware of the Captain's affection for him, the Vulcan was actually enjoying it (God, how un-Vulcan like)!

Or so she suspected. She was aware of the fact that she was the only person who can speak honestly to Spock but even she was not sure on how to ask the Vulcan about this. He would clam up faster that a cornered cockle for one thing and personally she knew that it was not her place to do so.

Sometimes she believed that Dr. McCoy have noticed these clues too. For all the grumbling he does on the ship, Uhura knows that the Doctor was a sharp man. But she had never asked him and if he had notices anything at all, the Doctor preferred to keep it to himself.

It doesn't matter anyway. In Uhura's opinion she only wishes happiness for Spock and yes, even the Captain too-whatever it may bring them.

At the moment though, there are more pertinent matters at hand:

Spock was making a move back to the turbolift where they had came from, apparently intent to launch a rescue mission and forgetting conveniently about his trip to Sickbay.

Uhura had to roll her eyes at his illogically opportunistic nature for escaping Sickbay.

'Aren't you supposed to get yourself checked into Sickbay first, Spock?' she chided.

He had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed.

She found herself smiling fondly at him.

Yes, even if all they had is friendship, it would be more than enough for her.

They made it to Sickbay and standing in for Dr. McCoy was Dr. M'Benga. The Doctor is a 'specialist' somewhat regarding Vulcan physiology. With him stood a blond-haired Nurse named Christine Chapel. Uhura noticed the Nurse's eyes lit up at the sight of Spock. As Dr. M'Benga continued with his examinations on Spock, the Nurse's eyes were upon him at all times.

Uhura knows that look well. She had experienced it herself.

'Oh boy,' she thought.

Here we go again.

* * *

McCoy stared at the unconscious body slumped in his arms with apprehension.

Kirk had been acting strangely ever since they had beamed down onto the planet a few hours ago. It was not very noticeable in the beginning and initially McCoy had deduced that the changed in behaviour was related to the extended exposure to the high temperature.

The more the Doctor thought about it, he realised that such cause would be almost unlikely for Kirk who was not only used to such an exposure but had even survived worse missions than this.

So what had brought upon him this collapse?

And what the hell happened to Sulu?

The Doctor gently eased the Captain onto the dusty ground and began to dig into his pouch for his scanner. His hand found the essential tool immediately and he was glad.

For a moment the Doctor was concerned that the scanner had gone the same way as his phaser. He had lost the latter during the escape from the giant worm. He looked into the handsome face of his friend pinched as if in pain even unconscious.

McCoy trained the scanner upon him and felt a rising dread within him.

The scanner reading is clearly showing that Kirk is slowly losing his mind and with it his internal functions.

And he is also running a temperature.

For reasons that are inexplicable.

The young man was simply _dying_.

'No Jim,' he whispered unwilling to believe it.

For the first time in his life, McCoy felt total helplessness came crashing down upon him. Even his disastrous divorced from his ex-wife hadn't made him feel this useless. If they don't get to the Enterprise soon, all will be lost.

'I am a Doctor damnit!' he told himself.

Kirk is still alive. McCoy forced himself to hang on to that fact. He knows Kirk well, perhaps the only person to ever be the closest to the Captain.

He will not let Kirk down.

He rummaged through his pouch again and brought out a hypospray.

A small sad smile tug at the Doctor's lips.

Kirk just hated hyposprays. Ironically perhaps at the moment; it is the only thing that can preserve his life.

He injected the content into the Captain's bloodstream. The substance inside is vital in keeping the brain function should such emergency occur. Bones prayed that it would be enough.

Apparently someone up there had been listening.

Immediately after, Kirk began to stir. McCoy was beside him instantly cradling his head as support.

'Jim,' he called. 'Can you hear me?'

'Spock,' Kirk whispered faintly.

'Spock, where are you?'

'Don't go!'

'NO!'

'SPOCK!'

Kirk suddenly was thrashing wildly in McCoy's hold.

Sulu mercifully chose that exact moment to appear and the helmsman was taken a back to witness the sight that welcomed him. He had been scouting the area to locate a place safe enough for them to make as a temporary refuge. It was a fortunate thing that he found that the caverns are dry and curiously comfortable and seemingly safe enough.

The only thing that he sensed as he was looking around is that there seemed to be an active wind activities going in and out of the cave from various directions.

'Funny,' he thought. 'I don't see any openings for wind to pass through.

But, he found neither animals nor signs of life anywhere.

He had taken extra precautions before he entered however because Sulu is a fast learner and he never takes anything at first glance. It is a philosophy that had saved him from many difficult and painful endings.

After he felt satisfied that he had found the most suitable place, he tracked back towards the exit to the place where he had left the Captain and Doctor. Sulu has of yet still unable to recalled his memory regarding the landing and the search and is feeling extremely concern at the signs of distress that the Captain is displaying.

Suddenly he felt a feathery soft brush of wind across his face.

A flicker of thought came to his mind that was too fleeting for him to grasp.

As he tried vainly to capture the elusive thoughts his ears caught a cry from the nearby entrance.

Sulu rushed out immediately to be greeted by the sight of Dr. McCoy struggling to calm an obviously distressed Captain Kirk.

'Sulu, thank goodness,' McCoy began. 'Help me to restrain him while I find for a tranquiliser.'

The Helmsman proceeded to land a helping hand and McCoy reached for the appropriate cartridge of hypospray. A moment later, Kirk had fallen back into unconsciousness. McCoy and Sulu a collective sigh of relief.

Together, they supported their Captain into the cavern. McCoy settled Kirk on the floor. He made sure that the young man is in a comfortable position and promptly reassessed his current condition.

Thankfully his earlier administration of the hypospray was doing its intended duty. Kirk's life-readings are stable for the moment. McCoy hoped that somehow help can be contrived as he looked around the cave carefully. It is a strange cave like one McCoy had never seen.

It was clean and barren unlike the usually craggy fissures of caves. There was no stalagtite or stalagmite here and no although there are evidence of underground streams which had carved the ways around the red sandstone seemingly a long time ago.

A wind suddenly howls from unseen fissures in the stone.

Suddenly, for once at least, since he had beamed down onto this planet, the Doctor felt safe. He could not explain it but his heart felt lighter in here away from the accursed sun and death he found outside.

Beside him however Sulu was pacing around the area apparently ill at ease.

A behaviour so unlike Sulu that McCoy had looked up from where he was currently crouched beside Kirk to observe the helmsman curiously.

The young helmsman was fidgeting nervously whilst his eyes seemed to roam around the whole cavern as if seeing something that McCoy cannot see.

The wind howls louder.

Sulu grew tense as if he was about to spring and bolt from the place. McCoy suddenly remembered that Johnson had behaved in exactly the same way before the attack of the worm took place.

McCoy's calmness immediately subsided. He wondered what is going on around here that could cause all of this madness.

'Sulu,' he called.

Sulu turned a haunted gaze toward him. The Doctor was instantly reminded of the same look he had seen on Kirk before he collapsed.

'Oh no Sulu. Not you too,' he cried and rushed to the Asian man.

'Sulu, what is it?' he asked carefully not wanting to startled the young man.

'The Captain. He is in danger as we all are. We cannot stay here,' Sulu suddenly answered as if in a trance.

'What do you mean? How do you know?' McCoy asked urgently.

'They told me,' Sulu had answered in an odd serene way.

McCoy's blood pressure shot up again.

'Who told you all these?'

Sulu pointed to the direction of the cavern's great hall.

'They did,' he said.

* * *

Kirk walked alone in his fevered mind.

Alone.

It seemed to him sometimes that it is all he was destined to be.

He remembered everything here. Every single thing that had caused him pain and heartbreak are all displayed here like a hologram.

Or a nightmare.

He saw again the disdain in his Mother's eyes whenever she looked at him.

The people who laughed and bullied him at school and tormented him

Of a childhood he wished for every single day of his life but will never get.

He remembered Sam leaving him to seek for a better life.

There were girls, women he thought had loved and left.

Of lonely tears he shed at night when no one else is around.

He is alone.

Had always been and perhaps forever will be.

He felt himself giving up then, when he saw Johnson's death; the fear in the young man's eyes as realisation of a life cut short.

Kirk felt that he could've prevented it, felt that he should do many things he couldn't do and he wallowed in his self-pity and anger and darkness.

And then they had come.

They whispered to him comfort. Kirk felt warmth and safety and acceptance and even perhaps, a touch of understanding.

He was comforted but for the warning they had given him.

'You will die soon if you do not find ways to escape here,' they warned.

He had begged them to let him stay. Only they understood him; only _they _cared for him.

But they would not let him.

'Seek for your bond-mate. He can save you,' they whispered.

Kirk was confused then. He has none. But they insisted.

'He is there up in the sky in your silver vessel,' they said

'I do not understand,' Kirk returned, confused.

'The man called Spock, your bond-mate. We have sense it from within your mind-and we have touched his,' they continued.

'We need to communicate with him but he is too far from our reach. We want to understand and he could provide it for he is as we are,'

'Call for him. This you must do for your survival and the survival of your men here and aboard the Silver vessel,' they insisted again.

Kirk had no idea of what they are talking about. He and Spock are far from being bond-mates, whatever that meant. They are not even friends. Kirk trusted them however inexplicable that may be and he must do this if for nothing else than to ensure the survival of Bones, Sulu and the Enterprise.

So he did. He focused hard to call for Spock; hoping against hope that the Vulcan can hear him.

'Spock!' he called with all his might.

He tried sending all his thoughts and emotions along.

'Spock. Answer me!'

'Spock please-I need you!'

He repeated the call again and again but there was no answer.

Wherever Spock was he is not responding or simply Kirk was not a telepath.

Or, the Enterprise is indeed no longer there.

He nearly despaired at that thought when suddenly, faintly but very recognisable Kirk heard an answering call:

'Captain. I am here,'

It was Spock.

There was no doubt of it in Kirk's heart.

Beyond all hope, Spock had answered. Kirk felt joy sprang and intensified in his chest.

'Spock,' he called back. 'I need you,' he said and he felt no shame for saying so.

He felt Spock sent him reassurance through the link and Kirk felt safe and secure in his existence.

'Captain. I am here. Stay with me,' Spock had said when suddenly without warning the link began to weaken.

He felt Spock sending soothing encouragement but it was too late…

'SPOCK!'

And the link was terminated.

He was alone again.

Kirk heard them whispering amongst themselves then and it was not good news.

_To be continued…_

**Well, well, well, what have we here? Have I confused you yet? **

**The explanation is mighty simple actually. **

**Any takers? (;D)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: If I can't have the AU K/S; I'll take the TOS pair please. Thank you. What? No? Sob. **

**Summary: The connection grew between the two; the chapter is an exploration of this theme.**

**A/N: THANKS TO ALL THE REVIEWERS/ALERTERS AND EVERYONE FOLLOWING THIS!!! We probably are looking at 2-3 chapters before wrap time. So enjoy people!**

**Chapter Seven:**

Kirk doesn't know how long it has been since his last attempt to contact Spock had passed. He still remembered the short-lived joy he experienced and the connection that he had felt to the Vulcan. Spock was trying to comfort him and Kirk can sense his First Officer's own happiness at hearing his voice. The comfort Spock's joy was emanating warmth and glowing in the thread of thoughts the Vulcan had delivered.

_I am here for you._

_Let me help._

These words was felt rather than heard by Kirk. Spock had not been sending many verbal communications yet Kirk can feel him very strongly during their brief contact. He took the time to marvel at that despite his inexperienced with the ways of telepathic connections. For that brief duration of time, he had felt as if he was a part of Spock. As if he had been able to read the other man through the link; to touch him and feel him.

Forever, _touching and touched_; he thought he heard the echo of another voice from his not-too-distant pass.

And there was another emotion present that the Vulcan had passed onto him through their mind link.

Love.

It was something Kirk had never expected to receive from anyone. Let alone from Spock. He felt hope soared in him unexpectedly. Whatever it takes, he wants to break free of this void. He wants to learn more about the Vulcan and most importantly; he wanted to learn more about himself. He needs to escape this hell.

But suddenly the pain came unbidden and merciless.

Kirk clutched at his head feeling the pain and loneliness of the sudden realisation for the loss of contact with Spock.

They were watching him still.

In pity, he can feel it.

'You are in danger of losing yourself,' they warned him.

Kirk stared up at the figure that stood in front of him.

The voices had begun to take a shape. It was indistinct and Kirk was unable to make out any solid shapes. What appeared in front of him looked like a mist of some sort.

A shapeless figure shrouded in red. They speak with the voices of many but as one. It confused him and the longer the communication commences, the more Kirk felt himself growing weaker and weaker.

'You must attempt contact with your bond-mate again. We are able to send him our thoughts but only briefly. He is aware of your hardship. And he is facing one of his own aboard the vessel,' they said

'Is Spock alright-what about my ship?' he asked terrified if the Enterprise should be in danger.

'They are safe-for now,' they answered and it provided Kirk with no peace.

'What do you mean? Please tell me, I need to know.'

'You must attempt to contact Spock again, for the life of many-you must do this,' they returned simply.

'What is this danger to my ship? Tell me!' he cried.

'The planet's gravity is affecting it. It will continue to be so until it is too late and escape would be fruitless. They must break free of the orbit now or they will crash.'

Kirk froze.

He now knows what had caused the communications break down they had encountered earlier.

Apparently whatever is happening to him now is somehow connected to the Enterprise.

He found himself not surprised by this fact.

Kirk felt his strength wavering the longer his communication goes on with them. He doesn't understand it.

What _exactly_ are these people?

And how are they able to know of all this?

Do they even play any part in this farce?

'Who are you?' he asked because he needed to know.

He is desperate for answers.

Any answers that could lead away from his own darkness and encroaching madness.

'Won't you help me?'

'Please,' he begged as he felt himself weakened.

They only looked long and long.

But no answer was forthcoming for him.

And then, they were gone.

Leaving Kirk and his tortured mind behind.

Desperately, Kirk called for them for help; for anything that could guide him out of this darkness. He felt a burst of new-found strength flow into him unbidden and a welcomed strength emerged from within him. Kirk realised that he was not this weak minded person he is currently wallowing in but a much stronger one

Away from here, I stand as a Captain of a Starship.

I have a future more bright than my past.

With Spock standing beside him.

An echo of what they had told him came back:

'_You must attempt to contact Spock again, for the life of many-you must do this.'_

Kirk gritted his teeth in determination. He pushed aside the weakness he felt and focused his mind entirely on one thing: Spock.

'Spock,' he called.

'Please hear me.'

* * *

On the Enterprise, First Officer Spock was finally allowed to leave Sickbay. The examination had gone very well, physically anyway. Spock was having a hard time with the telepathic side of things nevertheless.

He had found the examination to be unnecessary and had wished for it to end as soon as possible. He was finding it very difficult to focus and the longer this continues he fears that his mental barrier might crumble and his internal distress becomes obvious to the Doctor. He does not need any more delays today. Already he felt that he was wasting precious time here while the Captain and the others are facing possibility of death.

As the examination continued, Spock found himself seeing flashes of images from somewhere he had never been to. He saw sand dunes, storms, caves and images of Sulu, McCoy and finally Kirk. What he saw concerned him deeply. It is the price that would befall them should he, Spock failed to save them.

If I should fail.

As the images came faster and clearer, he saw suffering and death.

He saw death of the landing crew.

And painfully he witnessed the passing of his Captain.

His Beloved Captain.

Beloved.

_T'hy'la._

Spock shook his head to clear it. He suddenly felt more confused than ever. Why has he thought what he just did?

T'hy'la is a term of endearment that should never be used lightly. Why would he refer to the Captain as such? He had been unable to keep his mind off Kirk lately and this is a strange revelation to happen to him. Has he let his budding affection for the Captain to cloud his mind?

What kind of madness is this?

Spock suspected now more than ever that these telepathic images and contact that he has been receiving are sent by whatever life-forms he had detected earlier. After all these onslaught of voices and images he had experienced earlier, in his heart there will be no doubt; the voices are calling to him to beam down to the planet. For what purpose Spock cannot tell. But he can feel urgency in the touch and he knew that time is running out.

Out of nowhere he heard a strange voice or voices he could not tell, it was too far to catch.

_Come_

_Danger_

_You are needed _

_Come_

'Spock' he heard suddenly a tentative call within his mind even as he tried to concentrate at the whispered echo of the voices he had heard earlier.

It was Kirk.

Spock felt sure of it.

'Captain,' he called back tying to focus solely on the Captain.

'Please hear me Spock,' Kirk's voice sounded so very far.

'I am here Captain,' Spock said trying very best to convey the message to Kirk.

The Vulcan does not like the weakness he felt through his link to the Captain. It seems to him that Kirk is losing strength fast and he does not know why. If this continues Kirk will die soon.

No, that can't be.

'Captain!' he called.

'Let me help,' he cried.

He felt rather than heard Kirk responds.

'Spock, save yourself. Take the Enterprise to safety,' he said.

'I will not leave you behind Jim,' Spock said.

Jim.

Spock had called him Jim. Even in this desperate hour Kirk still marvel at the ability the Vulcan possessed to amaze him. He experienced again the sensation of warmth and of love that Spock had sent to him in the earlier contact.

Regrettably time is not permitting for the matter of the heart. There are more pertinent matters he needed to address; there are too many lives at stake.

'Spock, please. Do this for me. Take the Enterprise out of orbit. Otherwise she will crash and I cannot allow it!' Kirk said seriously.

'I will order Scotty to commandeer her out of harm's way,' Spock answered.

'Good Spock,' he said feeling a mixture of relief and regret well inside of him.

The Enterprise and his crew will be safe.

Spock will be safe and alive.

But he will never see the Vulcan again.

There are things he wished to say to Spock but now the words shall remain hidden forever.

Perhaps it is for the best.

'Jim. I am coming down for you,' suddenly Spock's voice broke into his private reverie.

Kirk felt the strange sensation of his heart soaring with relief only to have it plummet again.

'Spock-no. I won't allow it,' he protested.

He will not have Spock risking his life for him.

'The decision is mine to make Captain,' the Vulcan said stubbornly.

Kirk cannot believe that he is arguing with Spock now in the midst of all this.

'Spock…,' he began.

'No Jim. You never gave up on me. And I will not allow you to fade from my life,' Spock replied.

_I need you._

The words hung in the air.

But Spock knows that the other man had felt it.

'Spock, please…I…,' Kirk began voice wavering slightly as if he was on the verge of tears and fighting against it.

Suddenly he grew silent.

'Jim?' Spock called alerted to the weakening in contact.

No answer.

'Jim, answer me!'

But the contact was lost; the link that bound them through their connection is growing cold.

Spock felt his fear and concern grew. He needed to make his move now or it would be too late.

'I'm coming for you Jim,' Spock said sending his thoughts to where ever Kirk was.

Hoping that the other man can still feel him.

Panic and fear is illogical now anyway.

'Wait for me.'

* * *

Doctor Leonard McCoy stared at Sulu with an intense expression on his face.

'Dear God,' he thought.

'Everyone has gone mad.'

He had immediately whipped out his scanner the very instant Sulu delivered the frightening answer to his question earlier.

After trying to make it functional repeatedly; the Doctor had since resigned to the fact that his scanner is broken along with his tricorder. There is some devilry at work here, the good Doctor suspects and with good reasons.

He had since made the deduction that all of their instruments would eventually be rendered useless the longer they are exposed to this planet. He had a suspicion that some sort of planetary influences here that had caused them to lose contact with the Enterprise and is even now disabling all of their tools.

Currently the only instrument that are still working are the phasers and even then, McCoy noticed with apprehension, they are running low on power and will soon be of no use. It worried him instantly because night would be approaching soon in three hours time and there had been nothing he could do here with two incapacitated personnel to look after.

Sulu had ceased any communications after he had dropped the creepy bombshell to McCoy. The helmsman is now standing rigidly, unmoving a little away from him like a silent sentinel. A part of the Doctor is glad that in his current silent state Sulu will not be able to terrify him with more spooky talk but another part of him is concern that Sulu would also eventually follow the footsteps of their Captain, Jim Kirk.

Speaking of the Captain, McCoy had turned again towards the prone figure on the ground. He moved towards his friend and eased himself down beside him gently. Kirk had not awoken at all after that last episode where he had been calling for Spock. Mercifully he seemed to be calm and peaceful now and his fever abated albeit slightly.

There was nothing the Doctor can do for neither Kirk nor Sulu now. Heck, there was nothing even he could do for himself. Water and food would be a miracle to find here and already McCoy realised that supplies they had brought are already running low. He hoped against hope that somehow the Enterprise with Spock in command would attempt a rescue.

That is, provided that they are not occupied with a trouble of their own. Given the current situation the Doctor do not doubt that they are in a tight situation too. But as with Kirk, Bones also have high confidence for the command abilities of both Spock and Scotty. And he is aware of the professional efficiencies of all the crewmembers. The Enterprise is in good hands; McCoy found a little peace in knowing that fact.

After all, Bones had always known of Kirk's last command to his stead whenever he leaves on a mission.

'No matter what happened to me, the ship's safety is paramount.'

Kirk had never failed to relay that order and this mission was no exception. Spock had taken in that command with his usual stoic calm and efficient grace. But McCoy thought that he had detected a crack in that brick wall for the first time when the Vulcan had received the orders that he will not be part of the landing team this time.

Spock and Jim admittedly is the most effective Command Team in the entire Federation Fleet. Along with that connotation they are also the youngest officers to be in a Command position. That honour had come also with a lot of prejudices and scornful reactions from many people especially the more senior personnel. Despite the well-known fact of the pair's accomplishments and heroics during the Narada incident, foul voices still speak against their commissions.

Both men had been mature enough to ignore it. Although Bones would never admit it openly to Kirk; he was the most joyful person to celebrate the other man's success. For all his eccentric, bold and macho bravado, McCoy knows that inside of Kirk lie hidden a gentle spirit; one that could easily be touched. It was a side of the young man had protected so fiercely even he, McCoy as his closest friend had never been allowed in.

Somehow, Bones realised after being around both his Commanding Officers for over a year that Kirk and Spock shared a special bond between them that even they do not realised. But it wasn't their command abilities that he had been interested in.

Instead McCoy had picked up subtle clues like the way they would look at each other when the other was not looking. Or the smile that would bursts forth from Kirk's lips every time Spock had so much as praised his logical deductions of a problem they are solving. Despite many people's false assumptions on the Captain's vanity, Kirk really does not care about fishing for praises. Not where it really matters.

So it was interesting to note that he would usually go out of his way to impress Spock. McCoy had thought that it was just a passing fancy until he began to encounter these incidents more and more at an alarming rate. As a Doctor, he had been trained to observed subtle changes in a person's behaviour.

Having spent a lot of time with Kirk at the Academy and beyond; it was not difficult for him to deduce that something was definitely up.

He doesn't really know why these thoughts had come to him herein this desolation.

It definitely would not come in handy in saving their lives.

Perhaps because Kirk was calling out for Spock earlier.

Or perhaps, he thought wryly, that he is losing his mind along with the others.

Around him McCoy can feel and hear the wailing winds like whispers of lost souls from long ago.

He wondered darkly of what it forebodes.

_To Be Continued…_

**The End is nigh folks. **

**But the K/S is only beginning…**

**Reviews/Comments/Constructive Criticisms Welcomed!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Star Trek: First Contact**

**Disclaimer: I'm organising a kidnapping. Shush.**

**Summary: Spock to the rescue.**

**A/N: I apologise to everyone for the terribly long delay. I'm not going to give any excuses; it's not writer's block. For any readers who are still interested; THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the support. I can now safely say with certainty: Only 2 chapters to ending.**

**So enjoy!**

**Chapter Eight:**

'Wait for me'

Spock let that thought played in his consciousness even as he quickened his pace towards the Bridge.

His mind is already quite made up now. With or without assistance, he will chance a rescue mission for his Captain and fellow crewmen still stranded on M246.

Uhura who was following behind had to quicken her pace to keep up with the Vulcan. Spock had been silent ever since they exited Sickbay. Now, suddenly without preamble, he had walked at top speed.

All of a sudden without warning the Enterprise shook like it was being hit by a dozen asteroids. The red alerts were immediately triggered at the terrible shaking.

Spock was fortunate to be able to grab hold of the railings by the side of the ship; Uhura and many others who were similarly taken aback by the shockwave were not so lucky.

Uhura was thrown to the floor with a terrible impact.

The Vulcan rushed to her side to offer aide.

'Are you alright, Nyota?' he asked with concern.

She seemed rather dazed but with Spock's help was able to stand up again.

'I'm OK Spock,' she said rather shakily.

The Vulcan scanned her figure up and down to determine if there is any outward injury.

Apart from the obviously bruising elbows where it had impacted upon her fall, she looked fine.

But still, there is no accounting for internal injuries.

'Mr. Spock, Lt. Uhura. Report to the bridge immediately,' Scotty's voice boomed over the ship-wide communication channel which is mercifully the only communication they still have.

He turned to look at Uhura.

'You should report yourself to Sickbay first Nyota. I can accompany you,' he offered.

She shook her head.

There was no time and she was aware of it.

'I am really fine Spock. These bruises are nothing. Let's go back to the bridge together.'

Her tone left no room for any arguments; after all she was right. In a critical situation such as this, every able bodied crewmember will have to answer the call for duty. Uhura knows well enough the moment she signed up for Starfleet Academy that she would be devoting her life to duty and responsibility. Spock similarly is bonded to the same code of ethics.

'Very well. Let's go.'

Spock and Uhura shared a concern glance for a fraction of a second before they both rushed to the bridge and was soon taken from sight by the many bodies rushing everywhere to all parts of the moment the both of them stepped inside the bridge, another tremor, slightly less severe this time hit the Enterprise again.

Scotty was pacing to and fro around the Bridge apparently ill at ease.

No one could blame him really.

'What's our status Mr. Scott?' Spock began quickly.

Scotty's answer was not promising.

'More power failure happenin' all over the ship Mr. Spock. Remember I told ye about the Domino effect earlier. Apparently Sir it had reached my Engineering,'

'The Dilithium Crystals?'

'Aye. We're losing them one by one. If we don't break out of orbit now Mr. Spock; we're dead men and that's the fact.'

Spock scanned through all the reports that prove every single one of Scotty's simplified explanation.'

There really was nothing for it.

If they stayed within the orbit, the Enterprise will crash and with it claim the lives of many. On the other hand, to break out of orbit meant abandoning the landing team with no possible chance of another rescue attempt.

Thus there it is; Spock's very own moment of truth.

And it is at times like these that Spock admits that he felt keenly the absence of the Captain. But his mind was made up, had been since his last contact with Kirk.

'Mr Scott,' he began firmly.

The Engineer turned to look at him.

'Get the engines ready and bring the Enterprise out of orbit,' Spock finished.

Scotty looked uncomfortable.

'What of the Captain and the landing party Mr. Spock?'

It was just as well that everything be made ready for his own departure. Since the transporter is in-operational having been affected by the system failure, the only option that Spock can use to get to the planet is by using the shuttle craft.

The Enterprise had a supply of six of them to be used in the case of transporter malfunction. Thankfully, none of the shuttles were affected by the unusual power lost because all of them contained personal power reserves supply.

Now would be a good time to render them useful.

'I am ordering you to take the ship out of orbit. Meanwhile, I also would request a shuttle to be made ready for myself,' Spock said.

Just as the words escaped his lips, various eyes on the Bridge turned to regard him in shocked. Obviously they understood his meaning without the needs of an elaboration.

It was Uhura who voiced her opinion.

'Spock-please. It is dangerous to attempt a rescue by yourself. You don't even know where they are,' she stated.

'I am aware of the risks Lt. Uhura. I already have a possible clue of their location,' he answered calmly.

Even as Scotty and Uhura exchanged concern looks; Spock had proceeded to contact the crew responsible for the preparation of the shuttle craft.

'Mr. Spock,' Scotty started uncertainly.

'I cannae let ye undertake this mission alone. Take along personnel with ye that we can spare. I'll make the necessary arrangements.'

'That will not be necessary Scott. I alone will be able to undertake the tasks. You will need many personnel to navigate this ship out of orbit and therefore you cannot spare any,' Spock declined.

'But Mr. Spock,' Scotty protested.

'There will be no debate on the matter Mr. Scott. I will be going taking the shuttle craft down onto the planet. Begin your preparation for transporting out into space.'

Spock's voice was firm and steady.

As Captain Kirk would usually say: I do not invite a debate, gentlemen.

After all, they are running out of time as another tremor shook the Enterprise.

That settled the brewing argument quickly.

Many more bodies get thrown around increasing the occupant of the already busy Sickbay. Scotty started shouting for various orders to begin the engine start-up in order for them to bursts out of the gravitational energy that was increasing as it began to pull strongly at the ship.

There were flurries of activities all across the bridge as every station from navigation to helm to engineering began to simultaneously work to ready the ship for take off.

Even Uhura was back at her console trying to get them working although her eyes managed to steal worried glances to Spock every now and then.

Amidst these activities, a chirped sounded from the Command chair and Spock received the information from the shuttle ready room that everything has been prepared for him.

Spock walked over to where Scotty is currently belaying orders from the engineering console and the Scotsman promptly looked at him.

'I will leave for the ready room now Mr. Scott. I order you to get the Enterprise out of orbit the moment my shuttle disengaged from it.'

Scotty 's face was set and he regarded the other man with renewed respect.

'Aye. There'll be no use fer me tryin' ter change yer mind Mr. Spock. We'll be waitin' for your signal to retrieve ye. Best o' luck sir,' Scotty said earnestly.

If there was a good word to be said at a moment like this; Spock would have said it illogical or otherwise. As it stands, all he could relay to Scotty is his gratitude.

'Thank you Mr. Scott,' he said.

'Live long and prosper.'

Scotty gave him no answer save for a nod and a small tense smile. Spock nodded once and began his exit from the Bridge. As he neared the turbolift, Uhura stood from her station and came to him. She had her professional face on but the words she whispered to him were anything but:

'Spock, I know you needed to do this and I have no right to stop you. But please, promise me that you will come back.'

It was an echo of a similar conversation that had occurred seemingly a long time ago in another place and time.

Spock felt a pang of emotion wash over him for a moment before he carefully tucked it away from his face and his heart.

Even though they are no longer lovers, he still owed her his gratitude for everything that she had done for him. He tilted his head slightly and offered her a little smile.

'I always endeavour to return; especially when there is someone for me to return to,' he said.

She smiled a sweet smile although it did not reach her eyes.

Same words; different circumstances.

She offered him a little touch on the arm.

He nodded.

And then the turbolift had taken him away from her.

Uhura's eyes lingered upon the doors long after it had closed.

He was never hers to begin with.

She returned to her duty and her future.

* * *

Spock let his long legs carry him to the intended destination. No one bothered him as he walked and no one turned to look at him. Scotty had just relayed the order that the Enterprise was to break out of orbit and returned to space. The start-up of the Engine would take the cooperation between various departments and at the moment every single body aboard ship was involved in the preparation.

Spock heard many relieved comments uttered by the crew as he passed but also he caught various conversations voicing concern about the Captain's and landing team's well-being. Spock had no time for gossip; it is not in his nature to partake in such illogical activity and he already reached the ready room.

Inside a crewman stood at attention the moment Spock made his entrance. The Vulcan wasted no time in conversation as he prepared himself with various instruments and necessities to be brought down with him. Amongst these are medical supplies, water and nutritional packs.

The crewman offered him a military salute that he had returned in kind.

After making sure that the shuttle is indeed ready for take-off he entered the cockpit and started the ignition sequence. The shuttle sprang to life and Spock settled himself at the control seat. He began all the necessary procedures for take off.

Spock let the shuttle hover momentarily in the hangar before he slowly eased it towards the escape hatch. He piloted the shuttle craft and it broke free of the Enterprise. Once in space, Spock contacted Scotty to inform him of his whereabouts. He urged Scotty to leave the orbit now.

The Engineer's voice was calm and serious.

'Good luck sir,' he said.

'We'll be waitin' for yer call, Sir,' Scotty finished trying hard to instil a confident tone to his voice and the communication was terminated.

Spock stared at the million stars beyond the confined space of his cockpit.

Now, the fate of the Enterprise is no longer within his control.

Spock turned his mind to focus on his mission now.

He piloted the shuttle with a one intention only:

To bring the landing team safely from the planet.

Preferably alive.

* * *

Doctor Leonard McCoy shivered a little as the temperature in the desert suddenly dipped as a signal of the approaching night. The wind had began to howled all around him now and sometimes he thought he could hear whispered words mingling with it.

He wondered once again whether he was indeed going insane.

_Do not lose hope._

_Never lose hope._

McCoy snapped to attention.

What was that?

'Great McCoy. Now you're hearing things too,' he scolded himself.

He shook his head. Things had been going steadily bleak as the hours passed. The Captain had yet to regain consciousness and even though his condition had not deteriorated, it had not improved either and without medical help there was nothing McCoy could do to help. Sulu similarly is still lost in what apparently looked like a self-induced stupor. The helmsman had been sitting very still in the same position for the past hour or so staring blankly into space.

McCoy wondered if the trauma (whatever it was) that had caused Sulu's memory lost had contributed to the young man's worsening condition. He felt very hopeless and rather lonely in this desolation and as he looked about him he can't help but give a little shudder that had nothing to do with the lowering temperature.

Oh yes.

What could he do to protect them against the bitter cold night in these parts of the galaxy? They had not thought of bringing any extra warm garments for obvious reasons since this is a desert planet and the plan was to beam up aboard the Enterprise before night fall.

Obviously that plan now lay in ruin. A part of the Doctor is still holding on to hope. Perhaps the Enterprise (where ever she is) will come to their aid soon. One night in this worm-hole can still be tolerated for him; but his concerns are mostly for his friends. But another more cynical part of him knew that if help does not arrive and soon, there will be nothing that will stand in the way of demise.

McCoy shivered again and wrapped his arms tightly around his person to keep warm and went over to sit by the Captain's side.

Somewhere out there he prayed; let help be on its way.

_To Be Continued…_

**This chapter is the most enjoyable to write for me thus far; but I supposed I'm gonna be happiest when Kirk and Spock are FINALLY together (:D)**

**Please REVIEW/CC/COMMENT**


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